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ZIG-ZAG, THE BOY CONJURER 



I 


ZIG-ZAG, THE BOY 
CONJURER 

OR 


Life On and Off the Stage 


BY 

VICTOR ST. CLAIR 

AUTHOR OF 

“Zip, the Acrobat,” “For Home and Honor/’ “From Switch to Lever,” 
“Cast Away in the Jungle,” etc. 



PHILADELPHIA 

DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER 

610 South Washington Square 




4-G^M 


8G8 


Copyright, 1903 
By STREET & SMITH 

Zig-Zag, the Boy Conjures 1 


\iJlo Ajitrn 

Wv I 6 ) I f ^ *) 





CONTENTS 


chapter pagi 

I— Into Trouble in Spite of Himself ... 7 

II— A Sheriff Outwitted . . . . 16 

III— A Disappointed Audience . . . .26 

IV— The Boy Conjurer.38 

V— Illusion, Delusion and Mystery . . .47 

VI— Singular Conduct of Steerly ... 56 

VII— Zig-Zag, Puzzled and Startled . . .66 

VIII—Traces of the Missing Trunk ... 77 

IX— Disappearance of Steerly . . . .85 

X— A Startling Reappearance ... 94 

XI— Eggs—Eggsactly.102 

XII— A Surprise for All.112 

XIII— Arrest of Steerly.121 

XIV— Budd’s Wild Race for Life . . .129 

XV— A Startling Situation.137 

XVI— Capturing a Crowd.146 

XVII— Disappearance of Budd . . . *154 

XVIII—A Hard Crowd.162 

XIX—A Deed Fitted to a Dark Night . . .169 



ii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XX—Budd Gets Into a Box . . .176 

XXI—Zig-Zag Astounds His Enemies . .184 

XXII—Old Nick’s Ghost . . . .191 

XXIII—What Was in the Trunk . . .200 

XXIV— The Professor or His Double ? . ^ 208 

XXV— Something Strange . . . .216 

XXVI— Advertised.225 

XXVII—New Danger.234 

XXVIII—Budd’s Remarkable Performance . 242 

XXIX— Reading the Riot Act .... 249 

XXX— An Amazing Revelation . . .253 

XXXI— The Long-lost.264 

XXXII—Last but not Least . . . .271 


ZIG-ZAG, THE BOY CONJURER 


CHAPTER I. 

INTO TROUBLE IN SPITE OF HIMSELF. 

“Stand back, youngster! I tell you I have all the load 
I can carry.” 

“I must get to Glimmerton, sir; and I must get there 
before half-past seven. I am not very heavy, and I will 
pay you-” 

“If you have the money to pay with, why don’t you 
hire a team? I don’t run this stage to pick up every rag- 
shag I come across,” and the speaker closed the old 
coach door with a slam, and climbed laboriously to the 
driver’s seat. 

“Nat has got so he comes in every night purty well 
over the bay,” declared one of the half dozen bystanders 
about the railroad station at Canterbury, on the C. & M. 
R. R., as the crusty stage driver urged his four-horse 
team into a smart canter, so the clumsy old vehicle which 
afforded the only means of public conveyance to Glim- 




8 Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. 

merton, a neighboring town, rocked furiously from side 
to side, to the imminent terror of its dozen passengers. 

“Ya’as,” agreed a companion, as the little group turned 
away from the place, having no further interest there with 
the abrupt departure of the daily stage, “Nat does steam 
it purty stiff. He’s got to look out or Uncle Sam will 
take th’ job o’ carryin’ th’ mail way from him. I heerd 
it has been talked over to Frank P.’s store.” 

The sudden departure of the spectators left the youth¬ 
ful person to whom the surly stage driver had addressed 
his depreciating remarks standing alone upon the plat¬ 
form, with an ill-concealed look of disappointment upon 
his bright, good-natured countenance. 

His stature did not show him to be more than fourteen, 
or possibly fifteen years of age, but his face, with its 
firm lines around the mouth, and the thoughtful expres¬ 
sion upon its regular features, told of at least another 
year on the credit side of experience in the varying for¬ 
tunes of a checkered life. In fact, were we to reckon 
his existence from the parts he had acted in the rough 
side of knocking about the world, we should find that he 
was older than many are at two score. 

“That is a pretty go!” he exclaimed under his breath. 


Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. 9 

“I have got to get there if I walk; but that would throw 
me all out of trim for the show to-night. 

“Hello, sir!” he exclaimed, as the station agent ap¬ 
peared at the door of the depot, “can you tell me of a 
team I can get to take me to Glimmerton?” 

“Glimmerton? Why, the stage has just left here. 
Run, and perhaps you can overtake it. The driver will 
stop about a mile from here to have the mail changed.” 

“He refused to take me, sir. He said he had too many 
passengers already.” 

“Did, eh?” And the man eyed him suspiciously. 
“That’s funny, when he was complaining only yesterday 
that the travel was growing so small that he should take 
off a pair of horses next week.” 

“I don’t know about that, but I must get to Glimmer¬ 
ton at half-past seven sure. If you will kindly tell me 
of some one who has a team, I shall be very thankful.” 

“I don’t know of one you could get for love or money. 
You will have to foot it.” 

“How far is it?” 

“Only about a dozen miles. You can walk it in three 
hours, easy enough.” 

“But that would make it half-past eight. I must be 


io Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. 

there an hour before that time. I have an important en¬ 
gagement I must meet.” 

“If you can,” said the station agent, as he locked the 
door and walked away. 

“ ‘A horse! My kingdom for a horse!’ ” exclaimed 
the youth, quoting the well-known line with a mock ear¬ 
nestness that brought a smile to his own lips. “Well, my 
situation isn’t quite as desperate as that poor king’s.” 

“Wot’s all this fluster?” asked a sharp voice at his 
elbow, and turning quickly around, he was surprised to 
see a boy of about his own age, but taller and larger, with 
sandy hair and a freckled face. “I hope you’ll ’scuse me, 
mister; I didn’t mean to scare you, but I overheard you 
say you wanted to get to Glimmer in quick meter.” 

“To Glimmerton, yes. Can you tell me of a team ?” 

“What are you willing to pay ?” demanded the strange 
youth, thrusting his hands into his pockets, and assuming 
the air of one doing important business. 

“One dollar. If that isn’t enough, I will pay more, 
providing I am there before half-past seven.” 

“A dollar and a quarter?” 

“Yes. Who has the team ?” 

Pulling out of his vest pocket a battered specimen of a 


Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. n 

Waterbury watch, the other fixed his gaze closely upon 
it for some time, and counting on his fingers, he said 
aloud: 

“One, two, two and a half. By jupiter! I am going to 
do it. A dollar and a quarter don’t grow on every bush, 
and he need not know anything about it. Say, mister, I 
s’pose you’ve got the dosh handy ?” 

“I am good for my bills,” replied the other, displaying 
a handful of silver. “Come, we are losing valuable time.” 

“ ’Scuse me, mister-” 

“I am called Zig-Zag, if you please.” 

“Sol Ginger! what a funny name! Well, Mr. Zig-Zag, 
you must ’scuse me for asking such questions, but him as 
does business must be careful how he lets strangers take 
him in. In the words of the philosophit, ‘we have to treat 
all men as rogues till we prove ’em so.’ My name is Budd 
Newbegin, and I’m a rustler from the word go. Foller 
me.” 

With these brusque and not altogether clear statements, 
Budd Newbegin led the way down the road, soon leaving 
behind the last of the few dwellings forming the little 
village clustering about Canterbury station. 

After going about a quarter of a mile, the two came in 


12 Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. 

sight of a deserted house standing a short distance from 
the highway, under a clump of pines. 

Near one of the trees, attached to an old skeleton 
wagon, Zig-Zag saw a poor-looking horse, which gave a 
low whinny as they approached. Evidently the creature 
had been standing there several hours. 

“This is the rig-out,” said Budd. “Spring aboard. If 
this hoss ain’t got much style, he’s got the go.” 

In his anxiety to get to his destination, Zig-Zag did not 
stop to question the ability of the horse, but climbed into 
the seat as Budd Newbegin had told him to do. By that 
time the latter had unhitched the animal, and without 
further delay sprang up beside his passenger. 

“See him spin!” exclaimed the delighted driver, as 
the horse, with a very little urging, started into a smart 
canter. “I tell you he’s a hummer!” 

The road from Canterbury to Glimmerton is an ex¬ 
tremely hilly one, and not always kept in the best state 
of repairs, is extremely rough and rocky. Budd, how¬ 
ever, paid little regard to this as he urged the horse on, up 
hill and down, at a tremendous gait. It was already grow¬ 
ing dusky, it being the last of the month of October, so 
that the sun had set before this time, and the driver made 


Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. 13 

no attempt to avoid the cobblestones scattered along the 
road, the wagon rattling and thumping over one obstruc¬ 
tion and another until the riders were often nearly thrown 
from the rickety seat. 

A sharp hill descended to Canterbury village, through 
which they sped like a top, Budd’s yellow hair streaming 
out through a hole in the top of his dilapidated hat, and 
his feet braced against the low dashboard as if he was 
holding on for dear life. 

Beyond the village a long, tedious hill formed a con¬ 
tinual ascent of nearly a mile, reaching to Glimmerton 
south road. In climbing this ascent the horse of necessity 
slackened his pace, when Budd, speaking for the first time 
since starting, asked: 

“Got folks in Glimmerton ?” 

“No,” replied Zig-Zag. “I am going there on bus¬ 
iness. I belong to Professor Wiswell’s Combination of 
Oriental Wonders, which is booked for an exhibition there 
to-night. I have been to Manchester to-day to get some 

chemicals for the professor, and- 

“Sol Ginger!” broke in Budd, “do you mean to say 

you belong to one of them traveling shows wot goes about 

% 

the country having grists of fun and fooling everybody?” 



14 Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. 

“I can’t say as it is as bad as that, but I belong to a 
traveling amusement company, and-” 

'‘Have a fellow with you who swallows a sword, and 
fire, pulls handkerchiefs and ribbons out of folkses’ hats, 
and gets red in the face and talks through a box?” 

“I guess we do pretty near all you mention, and a 
good deal more,” replied Zig-Zag. “Professor Wiswell 
is called the best conjurer in the country, He spent 
twenty years in the Orient, and he learned very many 
wonderful feats of the fakirs and magicians of the East.” 

“Can you do any of them ?” 

“Yes, I can do nearly all the professor can. He has 
been very kind in showing me.” 

“Golly! how I would like to be in your place. Say, 
I’m minded to join.” 

Without stopping for Zig-Zag to reply, Budd rattled 
on in his indiscriminate way about a matter of which it 
was evident he knew very little. 

In the midst of this one-sided conversation, the south 
road was reached, when they passed the stage, which had 
stopped to have the mail changed at a small office. The 
road was descending here, so that Budd urged the horse 
on with increased speed. 



Into Trouble in Spite of Himself. 15 

They had not gone much farther, however, before the 
sounds of some one in rapid pursuit was heard above the 
clatter of their own flight. 

“We are followed!” cried Budd, showing unexpected 
alarm, and whipping up the horse excitedly. 

But the animal failed to increase its gait to any per¬ 
ceptible extent, and it soon became certain that the team 
following must soon overtake them. 

Zig-Zag was about to ask his companion the cause of 
his alarm, when the latter, looking wildly back, cried: 

“He has a white horse! It is Sheriff Bluffton, and he is 
after us! Jump for your life, or you’ll get into prison! 
This is a stolen team!” 

Then, without checking the headlong speed of the 
horse, Budd Newbegin leaped wildly to the ground, flying 
heels over head in his passage, and leaving Zig-Zag cling¬ 
ing to the seat for dear life. 


CHAPTER II. 


A SHERIFF OUTWITTED. 

Taken so completely by surprise at the singular course 
of action suddenly adopted by his companion, the horse 
had gone some distance before Zig-Zag regained his self- 
possession enough to seize the loosened reins, and thus 
check somewhat the headlong flight of the animal. 

Glancing back, he could see nothing of Budd Newbe- 
gin, but he realized that the pursuing team was rapidly 
overtaking him. 

Unable to understand what this pursuit meant, but 
feeling that it could in no way conflict with him, Zig-Zag 
quickly decided to stop until the other could come along. 

Accordingly, pulling smartly on the reins, and speaking 
a few words to the horse, he brought the animal to a 
standstill, though its sides were covered with foam, and 
it was panting from its recent furious exertions. 

The next moment the pursuing team dashed alongside, 
when a shrill voice commanded: 

“Hold up, young man, or the worst will be your own!” 

Zig-Zag saw that the wagon contained two men, one of 


A Sheriff Outwitted. 


17 

them looking gigantic in frame as he loomed up beside his 
smaller companion in the semidarkness. 

“What is wanted ?” demanded Zig-Zag, as yet dream¬ 
ing of no harm coming to him. 

“You!” retorted the burly officer, for the speaker was 
none other than Sheriff Bluffton, of Canterbury. “Per¬ 
haps you thought you were game enough to slide through 
the fingers of Pell Bluffton, but I guess you have seen 
your mistake. There isn’t a Newbegin smart enough to 
do that.” 

“I understand,” replied Zig-Zag, “you are mistaken 
in your person. I am not-” 

“Pell Bluffton is never mistaken!” cried the officer. 
“You are the rascal I want, and I have got you, too. I 
will learn you how to steal another man’s team. 

“Jump out, Sawyer, and let the young reprobate get 
in here with me. I reckon he won’t try any of his shines 
on me to get away.” 

Sheriff Bluffton said this last to his companion, who 
quickly sprang out of the wagon upon the ground. 

“You are mistaken,” repeated Zig-Zag. “My name is 
not Newbegin, and I have not stolen this team.” 

“By Jove!” exclaimed Sawyer, who, now that he had 



i8 


A Sheriff Outwitted. 


got nearer, saw that our hero was a stranger, “it is not 
that Newbegin scamp. It is some one I never see before. 

“Small whit of difference does that make. A skunk by 
any other name would smell just as bad. 

“Are you going to get in here with me, youngster, or 
shall I have to resort to this good right arm of mine ?” 

As Sheriff Bluffton spoke, he drew something from 
under the seat cushion, which Zig-Zag could see plainly 
enough was a revolver. 

“Quick—your answer!” demanded the sheriff. “If you 
think I am going to fool all night with such a whipper- 
snapper as you, you are mistaken. ,, 

By this time Zig-Zag could not help understanding the 
seriousness of his situation. To become the prisoner of 
Sheriff Bluffton would preclude the last possibility of get¬ 
ting to Glimmerton that night, and this he must do at all 
hazards. Certain articles he had in his pockets were 
absolutely needed by the professor in order to carry out 
the evening’s programme. Something, too, with that 
strange fatality which sometimes comes to a person be¬ 
yond the promptings of business, urged him to get to 
Glimmerton with all haste possible. He knew enough of 
the slow movements of the law to realize that should he 


A Sheriff Outwitted. 


19 

be obliged to give up his freedom, it might be several days 
before he could rejoin his company. 

Beside these considerations, Zig-Zag felt in ill humor 
over Sheriff Bluffton’s conduct. He had not addressed 
a civil word to him, nor treated him with the least show 
of consideration. This fact, as much as anything else, 
caused him to make an attempt to baffle the other’s aims. 

“You cannot arrest me without sufficient reason, sir, 
and I have done nothing wrong. I must get to Glimmer- 
ton before half-past seven, but if you want this team, I 
will walk. I had hired-” 

“Shut up!” roared the officer. “I arrest you, in the 
name of the law, with stolen property in your possession. 
Pull him out of the wagon, Sawyer, and if he offers to 
resist, bat him over the head as you would a horsefly.” 

The sheriff’s companion took a step forward, as if to 
obey the order, when he suddenly exclaimed: 

“I daren’t! He’s making up faces at me!” 

“Fire and furies!” cried Bluffton, rising to his feet, 
while he shook the revolver in the air, “are you a fool, 
Sawyer, or-” 

“I didn’t speak,” gasped Sawyer. “Honest-” 

Before the sheriff could reply, to the amazement of him- 





20 A Sheriff Outwitted. 

self and confederate, a deep, guttural voice, which seemed 
to come from the horse, said: 

“The boy did not steal me. Let him go !” 

“Who spoke ?” exclaimed Bluffton, growing excited. 

“I did!” replied the horse, looking around at the sheriff, 
as Zig-Zag pulled gently on that rein. 

“Zounds!” that’s mighty funny. Come, get in here 
with me, youngster. My man will drive that team back.” 

“Never!” seemingly cried the horse. “Come near me 
and I will kick out your brains.” 

Sheriff Bluffton was trembling from head to foot, show¬ 
ing that he was a coward when anything unusual opposed 
him. 

“What is it ? Who spoke ? It sounded like that horse.” 

“It was!” gasped the terrified Sawyer. 

“If you doubt it, lay a hand on that boy,” and the horse 
turned his head around so he looked into the white 
face of the sheriff, who had sunk back upon his seat. 

How he would have ended if Zig-Zag had been left to 
himself, I cannot tell, but the thunder of coach wheels and 
the clatter of horses’ feet at that moment arrested the 
attention of all. It soon became apparent that the stage 
was approaching at no natural pace, while above the tu- 


A Sheriff Outwitted. 21 

mult of the wild flight rang the cries of men and women 
in tones of terror. 

“Nat’s horses are running away with him!” cried Bluff - 
ton. “Clear the road! Here they come!” 

The truth of the sheriff’s words was evident, for as the 
stage drew nearer the cries of the helpless passengers 
grew wilder, while it could be seen that the runaways were 
plunging from side to side of the road, so the vehicle was 
swaying to and fro at a fearful rate. 

Thinking only of his own safety, the sheriff struck his 
horse a savage blow, causing the animal to spring into the 
gutter, nearly unseating him in the wagon. 

Sawyer bounded into the ditch and over the adjacent 
wall with a celerity of which one would not have supposed 
him capable. 

Zig-Zag followed the others’ example, so far as getting 
out of the path of the runaways; but with more presence 
of mind than they could lay claim to, he turned to see if 
there was nothing he could do to avert the awful catas¬ 
trophe impending the occupants of the coach. 

The driver was not in sight, though half a dozen heads 
were thrust out of the coach windows. 

It seemed like madness for any one to throw himself 


22 A Sheriff Outwitted. 

in front of the terrified brutes with the hope of stopping 
them. 

As the runaways swept past the teams drawn up in the 
ditch, possibly frightened by them, they made a plunge 
into the opposite gutter, when it seemed for a moment 
the stage was going to be overturned. 

Something checked the horses' flight for a moment, 
and they became tangled together in their efforts to regain 
the road. But the next instant they had straightened 
themselves out and were rushing down the descending 
road as madly as ever. 

They carried one more passenger, however, than the 
old stage had contained a moment before. 

Zig-Zag, as the coach had swept past him, had caught 
upon the baggage-rack behind the body of the vehicle, 
and with a nimbleness natural to him, sprang up to the 
rear end of the covered top. Gaining this, he crept swiftly 
along until he could drop upon the driver’s seat. 

Under the dashboard he saw the crouching figure of a 
man, whom he took to be the drunken driver. But Zig- 
Zag had too much upon his hands to give the powerless 
fellow more than a glance, as he looked for some way to 
stop the frightened horses. 


A Sheriff Outwitted. 


23 

The reins were lying over the backs of the rear pair, 
and, anxious to gain possession of them, Zig-Zag lost 
no time in letting himself down over the dashboard upon 
the tongue between the animals. 

His position was one of extreme peril, but clinging to 
his precarious perch with the tenacity of a squirrel, he 
soon succeeded in getting hold of the reins. Gathering 
them up in his hands hastily, he climbed back to the seat, 
when he prepared to bring under his control the affrighted 
steeds. 

This was an easier task than he had expected, and by 
the time they had gone a mile farther, he had them under 
complete management. Fortunately, the runaway had oc¬ 
curred upon a section of the road that was wide and 
smooth. 

While Zig-Zag was speaking soothingly to the fretting 
horses, the stage driver seemed to have come to his 
senses, for, lifting up his head, he drawled: 

“Tears me y—you driv’ ’em horses like Gabriel! Ras 
’bout over?” 

“Get up here if you have any manhood left about you,” 
said Zig-Zag, sharply. “You came near killing every 
one in the stage by your blundering.” 


24 A Sheriff Outwitted. 

“ ’Scuse me; Fs s—s—sorry ’bout it. Didn’t seem to 
have any control over ’em. Had all I c—c—could do 
hoi’ on—fac’.” 

Zig-Zag had no doubt of this, but, knowing that the 
passengers had not recovered from their terror, he stopped 
the team to assure one and all that there was no further 
danger. 

Nothing was to be heard of the sheriff, and as he was 
requested to drive the stage into Glimmerton, he resolved 
to do so, the regular driver claiming that he had suffered 
a sudden fit of sickness. 

He declined to go inside the coach, however, but re¬ 
mained by the side of Zig-Zag. 

At Glimmerton Center, where the mail had to be sorted 
for that office, about half of the passengers left the coach. 
By that time Nat Benton was able to take the reins, 
though Zig-Zag remained beside him. The old stager 
had not recognized him as the boy he had refused pas¬ 
sage at Canterbury, and our hero did not think it best 
to mention the matter. 

At a quarter past seven the stage drove safely up to the 
door of the Glenwood House, where Professor Wiswell’s 
company was stopping, and, highly elated to find that 


A Sheriff Outwitted. 


25 

after all of his adventures he had got there in season, Zig- 
Zag jumped down to the ground. 

“Where have you been all this time?” asked a man 
standing in the hotel doorway. “I looked for you back 
an hour ago.” 

“I came as soon as I could get here,” replied Zig- 
Zag. “Is the professor over to the hall ?” 

“No. Come up to our room. I have something I want 
to say to you.” 

“As soon as I have paid my fare.” 

“That’s all settled,” said the driver. “I reckon you 
earned it.” 

Without stopping to thank the stage driver, Zig-Zag 
followed his friend into the house and up the stairs to 
their room, anticipating that something unusual had hap¬ 
pened by his tone and manner. 

“What is it ?” he asked, as soon as they were alone. 

“Enough, in all consciousness. The professor is dead!” 


CHAPTER III. 


A DISAPPOINTED AUDIENCE. 

“Professor Wiswell dead?” asked Zig-Zag, unable to 
comprehend the other’s words. 

“That was what I said,” replied the man, in a matter- 
of-fact tone. 

“But he was as well as usual this morning; and only 
yesterday he was telling me that he had never felt better 
in his life.” 

“Nothing strange about that. Men of his temperament 
are often cut down without a moment’s warning. I have 
expected it of him for a long time, and I have said as 
much to you time and again.” 

“What was the trouble?” asked Zig-Zag, his voice 
growing husky as he continued the unhappy conversation. 

“Heart disease, of course. You yourself knew he was 
troubled with a heart difficulty.” 

“Oh, Mr. Steerly, I cannot realize what you say. This 
is so sudden, so unexpected!” 

“Come into the next room with me and I will show you 
only too well the truth of my words. Of course, it seems 


A Disappointed Audience. 27 

hard, but he had lived to a good age—sixty-five, he was 
telling me only last week. If I can live to that age and 
retain my faculties as well as he did, I will not complain.” 

Zig-Zag followed his companion into an adjoining 
apartment without replying, and as he came in sight of 
the whited, silent figure, the tears filled his eyes so he 
could not see. Groping his way forward to the form, he 
placed his hand on the cold, rigid features, murmuring: 

“Oh, Jack, tell me that this is all a horrible dream. My 
eyes are so full of tears I cannot see. Dear, dear friend, 
speak to me, if but one word. I cannot let you go with¬ 
out at least a good-by. How still it is here! You must 
tell me all the particulars, Jack.” 

“Another day must do for that, my boy,” replied 
Steerly, visibly affected by his companion’s grief. “You 
know we have other matters demanding our immediate 
attention. We ought to be over to the hall now.” 

“The hall—0I1, the show? But that will be postponed 
now. Of course we shall not be expected to give that 
without him-” but Zig-Zag could not finish the sen¬ 

tence. 

“His dying as he did makes it all the more necessary 
that we should. No one knows of his death outside of the 



28 A Disappointed Audience. 

house; I have been careful to look after that. The people 
will be there—a crowded house, I am sure—and you and 
I must go through with the entertainment. I can do my 
part.” 

“It isn’t that, Jack; but I could not do a thing thinking 
of him lying here in that way. No, no, Jack; the people 
will not blame us when they know the reason.” 

“But there is a more urgent reason than you suspect, 
perhaps, why we should give the entertainment to-night. 
In looking over the professor’s few things just now, I 
was surprised to find that he had less than a dollar in 
money among his possessions. I fancy you haven’t much 
more, and I surely have even less. This affair is going to 
cost us considerable extra expense, and you must remem¬ 
ber we are among strangers. So we have got to give a 
show to-night to get enough money to get out of town 
with. See ?” 

Zig-Zag’s grief was too great for him to understand 
fully what the other had said. 

“What could have become of his money, Jack? You 
know we have been having full houses ever since we 
started out, two weeks ago. He must have put it where 
you have not found it.” 


A Disappointed Audience. 29 

“That cannot be. I was aware he had been spending 
all we were taking in lately, and I will explain it to you 
when we have time. Come, we shall have to leave it now 
and go over to the hall.” 

“It! Oh, Jack, how that sounds ! How noble he looks, 
even lying there with that awful expression on his face. 
Jack, do you know I believe he was the kindest-hearted 
man in the world. Now he is gone—the only friend I 
had!” 

“I must say, you speak well of the living. ,, 

“Forgive me, Jack. I did not mean to wrong you! 
but you must remember he was all the father and mother 
I have ever known. He found me a nameless waif, and 
cared for me; he gave me an education and explained to 
me all of the great secrets which cost him years of study 
and research. He was always kind to me, and he has 
said he cared for nothing I could not share with him.” 

“That may be the reason you think so much of him 
now,” said John Steerly, in a tone which seemed to con¬ 
vey more than the words. 

Zig-Zag was too much overcome with his grief to notice 
this, however, as he reluctantly turned away to follow 
his companion out of the room. 


30 A Disappointed Audience. 

By this time it will be understood that Mr. John Steerly 
and Zig-Zag formed Professor Wiswell’s support in his 
Combination of Oriental Wonders. The first, however, 
had not been long with the company, and he had acted a 
minor part in the performances. He was not a communi¬ 
cative man, and all that was known by his companions of 
his past history was his name, and even that our hero had 
felt at times was assumed. Though he had never treated 
Professor Wiswell with any show of friendship, the other 
had shown him a singular confidence and respect. 

The sum of Zig-Zag’s history can be told in a few 
words. Longer ago than he could remember, Professor 
Wiswell had rescued him from death under the wheels of 
a carriage in the heart of the largest city in the world. 
No trace of his parents or friends could be learned by 
his kind benefactor, who had ever treated him as if he had 
been his own son. Under his personal attention, the boy 
had received an education equaled by only a few. He 
had accompanied the professor around the globe, stop¬ 
ping three years among the fakirs and wonderful magi¬ 
cians of the land of the Orient, where our hero had 
learned some of the remarkable feats we shall describe in 
coming chapters. 


A Disappointed Audience. 31 

As might have been expected, Professor Wiswell gave 
his name to his protege, but owing to the varying events 
of his checkered fortunes, he had early become known as 
Zig-Zag, an epithet which clung to him whether he would 
or no. - 

As if it was a part of the work of this trio to su^ound 
their lives with mystery, very little was known of Pro¬ 
fessor Wiswell’s history. He had been a kind, benevolent 
man, completely devoted to his art, and had seemed to 
have passed all of his younger years in India, to become 
master of some of the most startling feats of sleight-of- 
hand performed by the most gifted servants of the East. 

Fortunately, he had taught his young protege nearly all 
the secrets, which had cost him years of patient labor to 
solve. And now he lay dead in a country town, sur¬ 
rounded by strangers, save for the twain I have men¬ 
tioned, and they knew not if he had a relative in the world. 

Zig-Zag and Steerly found Sinclair Hall already 
crowded as they entered, and still the people were coming. 

“This is going to be a paying night,” said the latter, as 
he glanced over the audience with a look of satisfaction. 
“I will say this much for the professor, he was a good 
advertiser. See,” he added, as they reached the farther 


32 A Disappointed Audience. 

end of the hall, “I have the curtain up, and everything 
is in readiness. Now, if you coach me a bit on some 
points, I shall be able to open the show in ample season. 
It does an audience good to be kept waiting a few min¬ 
utes, for it will appreciate you better.” 

“Is the apparatus all here?” 

“Everything. I was careful to have it all on hand, for 
I didn’t know just what I should need to-night. Of 
course, the first time, I shall not be expected to go through 
the whole programme. These country louts will never 
know the difference.” 

They had passed “behind the scenes” by this time, and 
Zig-Zag looked upon his companion with wonder at his 
words. 

“Of course, I am going to run the show now,” said 
Steerly. “I am the older person. Why, the crowd would 
hoot a beardless boy from the stage. With a little help 
from you, at first, I have no doubt but I shall get along 
tiptop. At any rate, we have got their money, and if 
they are not satisfied let them kick; I shall never come 
into this howling wilderness again.” 

Zig-Zag was dumfounded by this unreasonable an¬ 


nouncement. 


A Disappointed Audience. 33 

“Of course I am willing you should go ahead, Jack, but 
I am in fear that you will not be able to go through 
enough of the programme to satisfy the audience/’ 

“It is not my fault that the old man was so selfish he 
would never tell me more. But I have not been such a 
blockhead as you seem to think, and if you learn it now 
for the first time, I will tell you I have witnessed more of 
these private lessons he has given you than you dream. 
You will find you cannot outwit me so easily.” 

Zig-Zag was surprised and puzzled by this unexpected 
treatment from him whom he had considered his friend. 
But, under the circumstances, he did not feel like argu¬ 
ing with him. He knew the audience was getting uneasy, 
and he hoped, with what assistance he could lend, Steerly 
would be able to act a satisfactory part. 

After what must have seemed a long delay to the ex¬ 
pectant waiters, Steerly ordered the curtain to be run up, 
when he was greeted by a storm of applause from those 
who did not think he was other than the “Great Wizard 
from the Orient.” Bowing and smiling to the audience, 
while he waved the magician’s wand clumsily over his 
head, Steerly opened the entertainment by saying: 


34 


A Disappointed Audience. 


“Ladies and Gentlemen : I now propose to open the 
wizard’s banquet with a little trick to prepare you for the 
greater mysteries to follow. You see I hold in my hand a 
common hen’s egg. How many of you can spin this, 
large and upward? Try it, please, gentlemen. Ah, ’tis 
as I thought, more difficult than you thought. Now, see 
me. Ha, presto! there she goes!” 

Steerly’s initial feat was one hardly deserving notice 
by an old conjurer, as the trick consisted in changing the 
egg offered to those of the on-lookers who would try 
to spin it, for another hard-boiled, which can be easily 
made to revolve on its small end by almost any person. 
He had placed the object upon a finely-japanned waiter, 
which he kept whirling in an opposite direction to that 
the egg was going, so the last was held in motion for some 
time. 

Elated over his success so far, Steerly essayed other 
simple feats with more or less satisfaction, until at last he 
undertook the showing up of the inexhaustible hat, 
watched with more feverish interest by Zig-Zag from 
behind the scenes than by the owner of the “slick up.” 

Having obtained the coveted hat, Steerly began to pull 
out the curious variety of articles the conjurer usually 
pretends to find in such an innocent receptacle, until he 


A Disappointed Audience. 35 

had piled out upon the table an enormous amount of per¬ 
sonal property. 

Though the performer was flattering himself that he 
had accomplished the necessary “loading” successfully, 
Zig-Zag was aware that several had seen by his bungling 
movements how the trick was done, and were waiting 
their time to expose him. 

“Oh, dear!” exclaimed Steerly, suddenly, “I feel faint 
and hungry. Whew, why shouldn’t I, when I come to 
think of it ? I haven’t had any supper. How thoughtless 
of me. Well, never mind. I will cook me a bite in a jiffy. 
Stay; I have no pot in which to cook my soup. Oh, yes, 
I have, for what better vessel could I ask for than this 
nice, tall hat. I am very fond of pie. Now watch me 
closely, to see how I cook a complete supper without any 
fire save what I take out of this tall hat, that I am going 
to use for a kettle.” 

This was really one of Professor Wiswell’s most diffi¬ 
cult feats, and was always received with rounds of ap¬ 
plause. 

Keeping up a continual stream of words, for the suc¬ 
cessful conjurer must do this, Steerly went on with his 


36 A Disappointed Audience. 

arrangements, until he took a glass of water from the 
table, saying: 

“Now, gentlemen, of this tea I will make a cup of 

water—no—no, I mean-” but swinging the glass about 

his head as he spoke, somehow he sent inadvertently its 
entire contents over the occupants of the first seat, when 
a howl ensued. 

“Never mind trifles!” said the actor* with an exasperat¬ 
ing smile. “I will forego the pleasure of a cup of tea this 
time. It is apt to give me a headache. Now, see me pour 
in the fixings for the soup/’ 

At this juncture Zig-Zag tried to catch Steerly’s eye, 
for he saw that the other had failed to prepare for this 
part of the trick by putting a “tin lining” in the hat. 
The would-be magician saw his mistake in an instant, and 
a cry of horror left his lips as he realized that he had 
spoiled the hat. 

“He has ruined it!” cried the owner, leaping to his 
feet. “They are humbugs and swindlers!” 

“Put them out of the house!” yelled others, until the 


hall rang with the cries. 



A Disappointed Audience. 37 

Then the excited mob started toward the conjurers, 
whose every avenue of escape was cut off. 

“They will kill us!” exclaimed the terrified Steerly, 
springing behind the curtain just as a cloud of missiles 
fell upon the platform. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE BOY CONJURER. 

It was a critical moment to the conjurers, and had not 
Zig-Zag possessed more presence of mind and forethought 
than the baffled Steerly, I am afraid my history of the 
young conjurer would have had a tragical ending. 

As his companion retreated with cries of terror, Zig- 
Zag bounded upon the stage, and, picking up the wand 
Steerly had dropped in his fright, he waved the emblem 
of the magician’s power over his head, while he shouted: 

“Shade of my father, arise and stay this mad mob!” 

Scarcely had the words rung out above the tumult of 
the crowd, when to the amazement of one and all a 
ghostly figure suddenly appeared upon the opposite end 
of the stage. 

At sight of this uncanny form, which seemed to tower 
above the head and shoulders of any mortal there, the 
spectators paused in their uprising. 

“Shades of thy fathers, stand back!” commanded the 
ghostly visitant, in a deep, sepulchral tone, which sent a 


The Boy Conjurer. 39 

shiver through the bodies of the on-lookers, as they sank 
back into their seats. 

“Oh!” cried Steerly, at that moment catching sight of 
the sheeted figure, “it is the ghost of Watterson Wis- 
well!” 

With this startling declaration, he sprang across the 
stage and down one of the aisles toward the door, a wild, 
scared look upon his features. 

No one thought of trying to stop him, and the next 
moment he left the hall, the sound of his footsteps, as he 
leaped down the stairs three or four at a time, echoing 
back upon that strangely silent scene with an impressive 
effect. 

Zig-Zag realized that no ordinary feat of legerdemain 
could recover the lost confidence of the angry crowd. Ac¬ 
cordingly he resolved to show that night the best of 
which he was capable. 

Paying no attention to the flight of his companion, he 
looked calmly over his audience, and then turned toward 
the mysterious figure at the farther end of the stage. 

“Sirrah!” he cried, in feigned displeasure, “what means 
this intrusion ?” 

The spectators gazed spellbound upon the strange sight, 


40 The Boy Conjurer. 

without knowing what to expect. Then, to their dismay, 
the weird object replied: 

“Young man, I could not rest and such shame falling 
upon my mantle.” 

“Good father, ’twere not my fault that the wand fell 
into the hands of a novice this once.” 

“Then redeem yourself,” said the sepulchral voice of 
the shadowy form, “else never put on again the mantle 
of the king of magicians from the Orient.” 

“I will, good father! and you shall prove my skill. 
See, this charmed blade, once the mighty wand of the 
great White Sheik, shall sever thee in twain but never 
lose itself in thy unseemely form.” 

While speaking, Zig-Zag, with a wild, fierce look upon 
his countenance, strode toward the ghostly speaker, and 
making a sharp lunge, ran the sword through his body. 

Ay, the weapon did pass completely through the other’s 
form, for its point stood out a hand’s span behind his back, 
but the blade was in plain sight its entire length! 

Awe-stricken, the spectators saw the boy conjurer move 
the two-edged sword back and forth in his attempt to 
carry out his threat. 

“Ha! ha!” laughed the victim, the hollow, mirthless 



The Boy Conjurer. 41 

cry seeming to fill the hall with its unearthly intonations, 
“your nerve is good, and your blade is sharp, but I cannot 
feel it. Look ! yonder window!” 

In a moment every eye in the audience was turned 
swiftly in the direction indicated by the ghostly speaker, 
though they failed to detect any unusual sight. 

“Away! vanish, thou unwelcome guest!” shouted Zig- 
Zag. “I have no desire for thy company/’ 

Their attention called back to the stage, all were amazed 
to see the young conjurer standing in front of them smil¬ 
ing and alone. Whither the spectral visitor had fled or 
how, or what he had been, they knew not. 

Zig-Zag no longer held the glistening sword in his 
hand, but the wand was still in his possession. 

Moving the latter gently to and fro, he addressed the 
wondering crowd in his clear, silvery voice, which fell 
like the soft rippling of running water upon their ears: 

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, that our ghostly friend 
has kindly departed, I will begin the evening’s entertain¬ 
ment by showing you a few of the marvelous feats and 
performances it has been my good fortune to have wit¬ 
nessed as done by the great magicians of India under 
the walls of the Towers of Silence. 


42 The Boy Conjurer. 

“Now, excuse me,” he said, as his eye rested upon the 
ruined hat which had caused the interruption, “before I 
begin I must show you that I can make myself useful as 
well as ornamental by repairing this hat my friend came 
so near spoiling. Watch me closely, for this secret may 
be worth many times your admission fee to you, and I am 
only too glad to do this extra service.” 

He had picked up the hat and was closely examining it. 

“It is a bad case,” he continued, “but the owner need 
not be a bit concerned, for I will soon return him his 
‘slick up’ as good as new. I see I shall have to cut it into 
pieces, however, that I may more easily get at it. Where 
are my scissors ? Never where I can get them. Has any 
one a pocketknife to lend me a moment!” 

Receiving the desired knife from one of the boys on 
the front row of seats, Zig-Zag, while he kept up an in¬ 
cessant stream of small talk, cut and tore the hat into bits, 
laying each one carefully out on the table. 

I will not attempt to describe the feeling of its owner, 
but an audible murmur ran over the audience, which 
seemed to bear a menace to the peace of the young con¬ 
jurer, who next began to apply some liquid from a con¬ 
venient bottle upon the soiled portions of the hat. 


The Boy Conjurer. 43 

Holding up each part as he rubbed it with the liquid, 
he invariably commented favorably upon the success of 
his work, until finally he declared: 

“Now, I can’t see why that isn’t as bright as ever, and 
I know the gentleman will be pleased with what I have 
done. I will carefully wrap the pieces in this clean paper, 
and he can take them home to put them in shape at his 
leisure.” 

At this audacious announcement a titter came from the 
younger portion of the audience, while more than one of 
the others scowled and “looked daggers” at the boy con¬ 
jurer. 

Then, before the gaze of the anxious spectators, Zig- 
Zag carefully wrapped the mutilated remains of the hat 
in a sheet of coarse paper, saying, as he finished: 

“Now, I wonder how I shall get this hat to the gentle¬ 
man ? Ah, I have it; I will summon a little bird to take 
it to him. Watch me closely while I call my servant.” 

With these words Zig-Zag formed his hands into a fun¬ 
nel shape, and with the package exposed to the gaze of 
all, held his hands to his mouth, when he blew into the 
space between them with all his might. 

Immediately following his second attempt the package 


44 The Boy Conjurer. 

seemed to dissolve, several sheets of paper and a light 
vapor floated out upon the air, from which a small bird 
flew swiftly over their heads across the room. 

Fluttering in the air for a few moments, the tiny, 
winged messenger darted swiftly back and disappeared 
behind the curtain, while the on-lookers remained staring 
at the space it had suddenly left. 

“Good!” cried the boy conjurer, “I see the gentleman 
has recovered his hat all right. Of course we will excuse 
him for wearing it in the house under the peculiar cir¬ 
cumstances of the case/’ 

Glancing in the direction indicated by the young con¬ 
jurer, judge of the amazement of every one to see that 
Dr. Brandon’s silk hat was resting safely upon his head 1 

Putting up his hand almost unconsciously, the worthy 
M. D. seemed more surprised than the rest at the discov¬ 
ery. Hastily removing the hat, the smile and look of re¬ 
lief which came over his features told plainer than words 
that the valuable tile had come back to him uninjured. 

Then the spell was broken. 

Huzzas, wild and thrilling, filled Sinclair Hall, until 
the walls rang as they never had before with the applause 


The Boy Conjurer. 45 

of a delighted audience. Loud and long the cheering 
continued, until it seemed they would never stop. 

Zig-Zag was now master of the situation. No one 
doubted him now, or his ability to do whatever he should 
undertake. 

Going to the front of the stage, he bowed low to the 
excited people, and thanked them for their appreciation 
of his efforts, as soon as he could make himself heard, 
while the ladies waved their handkerchiefs, and gray 
heads nodded sagely toward him. 

It was one of the proudest moments of the young con¬ 
jurer’s life. He was in good spirits to follow up his ad¬ 
vantage, which he did by saying: 

“Next, ladies and gentlemen, I will amuse you by a 
little trick of the vanishing glass of water. Of course 
the glass does not vanish at all, but you will think so, and 
the effect will be the same. See, I have here a plain glass 
filled two-thirds full with clear brook water. Of course 
spring water would do just as well, or water from a well 
would answer my purpose, so I don’t want you to think 
that it’s the kind of water upon which I depend for the 
little deception I am about to practice upon you. Oh, no, 
not at all.” 


46 The Boy Conjurer. 

“But I do need the services of a steady-handed young 
man to help me. Rather, I am going to depend upon him 
to spirit away the glass, providing I find him honest. If 
there is such a person in the hall as I have described, he 
will please come forward.” 

“Sol Ginger! won’t I do, mister?” asked a voice from 
the rear of the hall, and then Budd Newbegin came shuf¬ 
fling slowly down the main aisle. 


CHAPTER V. 


ILLUSION, DELUSION AND MYSTERY. 

“Perhaps you will do,” replied Zig-Zag, eying the new¬ 
comer closely, as if he had not seen him before. 

“What is your address?” 

“Overhauls the year round, sir! Marm makes ’em for 
me,” retorted the imperturbable Budd, looking up with a 
comical gravity at the roar of laughter which followed his 
words. 

The boy conjurer had placed the glass of water upon the 
table near the farther edge, and as Budd stepped upon the 
platform, he began to shake out a silk handkerchief, when, 

f 

holding it up so the spectators could see both sides, he 
said: 

“I don’t know about your handling the glass without 
spilling its contents, for if we spill any of the water the 
charm is gone. To be on the safe side, I will lay this 
handkerchief over the top.” 

Upon saying this the young conjurer lifted the object 
from the table by the upper part so the audience could 
see it. 


48 Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 

“Oh, dear me!” exclaimed Zig-Zag, as he brushed his 
disengaged hand across the silk, “I have spilled the water 
myself. But not enough of the precious fluid is lost to 
do any harm, I think. At any rate, we will see.” 

“Mr. Overhauls, I want you to take this glass to that 
young lady wearing the brown dress, and seated on the 
front seat. Be careful and not spill it, for that would 
put you in an awkward plight.” 

As he spoke he held out the object, and as Budd reached 
his hand to take the glass Zig-Zag deftly snatched the 
handkerchief away, and stepped back as if his part of the 
task was over. After a moment, seeing that the other did 
not start to carry out his directions, he demanded: 

“Why don’t you do as I told you ? Never keep a young 
lady waiting.” 

“You ain’t gin me the glass !” said Budd. 

“Haven’t given you the glass? Why, how dare you 
say that, when every person in the house saw me hand it 
to you ?” 

“I ain’t got it, and I ain’t had it!” protested Budd. 

“That’s too thin. If you had told me you wanted the 
glass of water, I would have given it to you. But I don’t 
like to be deceived in this way.” 



Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 49 

Then Zig-Zag looked more closely upon the other, and 
smiling as if he had made an important discovery, he 
added: 

“Please excuse me; I see what has caused the trouble. 
You have water on the brain.” 

“What?” gasped Budd, showing excitement. 

“Don’t be alarmed, for I can quickly take it off. I 
understand what has become of that glass of water. Al¬ 
low me to place this handkerchief over your head, so as to 
keep the cold air from rushing in at the cavity from 
whence I am going to extract that tumbler and its con¬ 
tents.” 

Budd Newbegin was trembling from head to foot, while 
the spectators were gazing intently upon the two. 

“Will it hurt?” asked the victim. 

“Only for a moment. Stand perfectly still so as not to 
spill the water.” 

The boy conjurer then laid the handkerchief lightly 
over the other’s head, and began to move his hand back 
and forth upon it. 

“Ah!” he exclaimed, after he had done this a few 
times, “it’s just as I thought. Yours is a bad case of 
water on the brain, and that glass has gone to it as 


50 Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 

naturally as life. Still I think I am in season to remove 
the glass safely. 

“Watch me closely,” he continued, turning toward the 
audience, when he lifted the handkerchief up, displaying 
the glass under it as he held it out to the spectators. 

“Of course we will forgive you for taking the glass in 
that way, young man, but I shall be careful not to place 
such a temptation in your way again.” 

Hearty applause followed the consummation of this 
trick, while Budd looked decidedly sheepish. 

This performance was really a very simple affair, when 
the way it was done is told, and the victim could not help 
wondering that he had been “taken in” so easily. 

The fact was Zig-Zag had two glasses exactly alike, 
and filled alike with water. The one was in his pocket, 
covered with a rubber top, and the other he had placed on 
the table in sight of the audience. The handkerchief was 
really two sewed together at the edges, with a ring fas¬ 
tened near the middle, the last being the size of the tops 
of the glasses. So when he lifted the silk up by the ring 
its sides fell down so they gave the shape of the glass, 
which he had slipped from under it into the secret drawer 
made for such purposes. 


Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 51 

The great secret of the conjurer’s success is to keep the 
spectators from looking toward his hands, a thing which 
he never does while performing. Thus he keeps up an in¬ 
cessant flow of conversation to cover his work. 

Now then, with a glass of water in his pocket as I have 
told, Zig-Zag, as he lifted the handkerchief from Budd’s 
head, had no trouble during the excitement of the moment 
to slip the rubber cover from the tumbler in his pocket 
with his free hand, and give the appearance of having 
taken it from under the silk covering. 

But as the conjurer never for a moment lags in his 
work, as that would be often fatal to his success, Zig-Zag 
passed swiftly to another of his marvelous feats, and 
from this to something altogether unexpected and pleas¬ 
ing, keeping the house in a continual roar of merriment. 

His magic wand moved with more than common celer¬ 
ity, and right here I would say that this very simple look¬ 
ing little stick plays a most important part in the work of a 
conjurer. It is what the baton is to the conductor of an 
orchestra. Ay, it is of more account, for it helps to con¬ 
ceal innumerable little devices and tricks; it is a cover for 
a host of necessary movements which would otherwise 
seem awkward, and it might be awaken suspicion. 


52 Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 

Zig-Zag’s wand was of a most unique pattern, fash¬ 
ioned after the conjuring sticks of the fakirs of India, 
and had been a present to Professor Wiswell from an 
aged magician in the Orient, and he had given it, with his 
blessing, to our hero. 

Needing some one to wait upon him, Zig-Zag retained 
the not unwilling Budd Newbegin upon the stage, until his 
last bewildering performance pronounced him to the audi¬ 
ence to be the king of wizards, and amid their plaudits he 
bade them a gracious “good-night.” 

“By jimminywhack!” exclaimed Budd, “hain’t it 
greater’n all creation. I never expected to be such a big 
man as this. Say, Mister Zig-Zag, I want you to just 
’splain it all to me so I can shake ’em up.” 

“How came you here?” asked Zig-Zag, as he began to 
clear up and pack away his apparatus. 

“B’gosh, I hooked it here; and I didn’t let any grass 
grow under my heels, either. Wouldn’t missed it for a 
thousand dollars.” 

“But how about that horse? You got me into a pretty 
scrape.” 

“Sho! B’gosh, I didn’t think old Bluffton was coming 
after us, did you ?” 


Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 53 

“It seems you had stolen the team.” 

“I didn’t look at it that way. That hoss had stood 
there hitched to that pine for two whole hours, when it 
would have been better for him to be exercised. Can’t 
see why they should kick just cos I was trying to help 
a fellow along.” 

Further explanation on the part of Budd was checked 
by the appearance of the landlord of the Hotel Glenwood. 

“Mr. Wiswell, I wish you would come over to the 
house as soon as possible. That man who came with you 
may be all right, but he is acting rather singular, accord¬ 
ing to my judgment.” 

“I will be right over, Mr. Preston,” replied Zig-Zag, 
who for the time being had quite forgotten Mr. Steerly. 

“You don’t expect to go back to Canterbury to-night, 
Budd ?” asked Zig-Zag, as he resumed the work of 
gathering up his apparatus preparatory to returning to 
the hotel. 

“Can’t,” said Budd, laconically. “Say, why can’t I 
stay with you—I mean right along? There must be 
oceans of fun in this business.” 

“Something besides fun you will find. What could 
you do?” 


54 Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 

“More’n you could shake a stick at. B’gosh! I’d like 
to see ’em tricks every night.” 

“I will talk with you later,” replied Zig-Zag, who had 
already decided to give the other a trial, as he must have 
some one to go with him, particularly if Steerly should 
leave him. 

Our hero kept busy while talking with his companion 
in preparing the things for removal, and he had just 
succeeded in placing the last article in position, as the 
janitor rushed up to him, saying: 

“Mr. Preston seems very anxious for you to come 
over to the hotel at once. I think something unusual 
must be taking place, for he is the last man to get so 
excited.” 

“I am going now. Here, Budd, keep watch over these 
things until I get back, and I will give you half a dollar, 
providing they are not disturbed. I won’t be gone long.” 

“And you can count on me for keeps,” answered Budd. 

Losing no further time, Zig-Zag followed the janitor 
out of the hall, and together the twain went across the 
street, and passing over a small common reached the 
Glenwood House. 

“Perhaps I have done wrong in disturbing you and 


Illusion, Delusion and Mystery. 55 

your business,” said Mr. Preston, as he met the boy 
conjurer at the door, “but that fellow Steerly is acting 
queer. The last I saw of him he went into the room the 
professor hired for himself, and I have a suspicion that 
he is up to some mischief, though I don’t know as I have 
any reason for saying so.” 

Without stopping to reply, Zig-Zag ran up the stairs 
to the chamber in question, to find the door locked. 

He then called Mr. Steerly by name, without eliciting 
any answer. 

“If you haven’t any key,” said the landlord, “here is 
one. It is your duty to make an entrance into the room.” 

Taking the proffered key, Zig-Zag quickly applied it 
to the lock, and turning it around opened the door with¬ 
out further trouble. 

Not very much to his surprise, the room was empty! 


CHAPTER VI. 


SINGULAR CONDUCT OF STEERLY. 

“The bird has flown!” exclaimed the landlord, showing 
considerable excitement. “I knew there was something 
wrong about his actions. He should be hunted down at 
once.” 

Zig-Zag’s attention had been arrested by the disordered 
appearance of the apartment. Professor Wiswell’s clothes 
were scattered about the floor in a most promiscuous way, 
and thrown carelessly upon the rumpled bed was a wooden 
box, or a sort of miniature chest, which the young con¬ 
jurer had seen in his possession since he could first re¬ 
member him. 

“Somebody has looted the room!” cried Zig-Zag. “The 
professor’s private papers and treasures are gone. There 
is nothing left but this box, which seems to be filled with 
small handbills.” 

“It’s the work of Steerly!” exclaimed the landlord. “I 
will summon the sheriff and have him arrested if you say 
so, Mr. Wiswell.” 

“Not yet,” replied Zig-Zag; “I don’t understand what 


Singular Conduct of Steerly. 57 

all this means. Are you sure Mr. Steerly is not about 
the house?” 

“Quite sure, though I will see if he can be found.” 

With these words Mr. Preston hastened to make a 
thorough investigation of the premises, while the boy 
conjurer continued his examination of the room. 

There could be no doubt but the apartment had been 
hastily ransacked and everything of value taken, except 
the wearing apparel of the dead man, and the box found 
upon the bed. 

The last Zig-Zag kept, resolved that it should not pass 
from his possession, unless it was required by law. 

“I am sure Mr. Wiswell had some valuable papers,” 
he said, half aloud, “and what John Steerly wanted of 
them is a mystery to me. I am sure they concerned me 
more than him. Poor professor! This seems too bad !” 

By this time the landlord had returned from a vain 
search for the missing man. 

“IPs just as I told you at first. He has flown, and 
while we have been fooling around here he has got out 
of town. By the way, though it is none of my business, 
I would like to ask if you know that he has taken the 
funds paid at the door for admission to your show ?” 


58 Singular Conduct of Steerly. 

“They are still in the hands of the doorkeeper, I sup¬ 
pose,” replied Zig-Zag. “I have been too busy to look 
after the matter.” 

“Well, it is too late now. I have been told but a minute 
ago that this same Steerly asked for them, and got them, 
too.” 

“Impossible!” 

“Mr. Woodbury is below and he will tell you it is a 
fact. He had begun to think he ought to have held them 
a little longer. But Steerly hired him to sell the tickets, 
so of course he thought it was all right.” 

“I don’t understand it,” said Zig-Zag. “Professor Wis- 
well has always had faith in him and trusted him.” 

“That may be, but it is evident that he trusted him 
too far. Now, while we are speaking of this matter, I 
want to say that the death of Professor Wiswell occurred 
under very suspicious circumstances. At noon, the last 
time I saw him, he appeared as well as any one, and at a 
quarter past four this Steerly rushed into my office saying 
that he was dead. 

“I came here immediately, and sure enough, he was 
past anything we could do for him. But I am going to 
tell you that no such affair is going to take place in my 


Singular Conduct of Steerly. 59 

house without an investigation. I have seen that the 
body has been given proper care, and put trustworthy 
watchers to look after it. To-morrow morning I shall 
summon the selectmen and demand a coroner’s inquest. 
At least the reputation of my house requires that much.” 

Zig-Zag thanked him for his forethought, but as yet 
he could realize nothing clearly. Professor Wiswell’s 
death had come so suddenly, and Steerly’s unexpected 
conduct had worked so against him that he did not know 
what to do. 

“I must go back to the hall to look after the apparatus,” 
he said to the landlord. “I won’t be gone long. At least 
that part of our property is left me.” 

“I will call the boy to go over with you if you need 
any help,” offered Mr. Preston. 

“No, I thank you. The youth I left to look after the 
things will be all the assistance I shall need,” replied 
Zig-Zag, as he started on his errand. 

Zig-Zag was about halfway across the common, and 
in sight of the Sinclair Building, which could be seen 
plainly in the starlight, when he was startled by a sharp 
outcry from the hall. 

Quickening his pace to a run, he had nearly reached the 


60 Singular Conduct of Steerly. 

building, which stood with an end toward the street, 
when he was amazed to hear the sounds of a fierce strug¬ 
gle going on within. 

Bounding up the stairs three at a leap, he had barely 
gained the second floor as a crash of glass and a louder 
cry rang on the air. 

“Go it, old boots, lickety-split!” cried the shrill voice of 
Budd Newbegin, as Zig-Zag entered the hall, to see him 
standing at the opposite part, with a wild, triumphant 
look upon his features, while he shook in the air a piece of 
dark cloth. 

“What has happened, Budd?” cried the boy conjurer, 
excitedly. 

“Hullo! hullo, Zig! Is that you?” asked the surprised 
Budd. 

“Yes; what has happened? What have you thrown 
through that window?” 

“Oh, nothing but a galoot as come in here to get his 
finger on ’em playthings of yours. I told him to let ’em 
alone, and he said ‘git out!’ when I just put him out the 
winder. Ain’t going to have no fooling where I am 
doing business. See?” 


“Who was it, Budd?” 


Singular Conduct of Steerly. 61 

“Dunno. Here’s his coat—leastways a part of it, 
which he tore off trying to git away from me,” said Budd, 
holding up the tattered remnant of what had once been 
one side and a sleeve to that garment. 

“It is Steerly’s coat!” exclaimed Zig-Zag, with un¬ 
feigned surprise. 

“Don’t keer if it’s Cowly’s, when a feller comes a-nosing 
around me in that way he’s got to be a rustler from the 
top to git ahead of me.” 

“Tell me all about it, Budd. And did he get any of 
the apparatus?” 

“What do you take me for?” and from Budd’s rather 
mixed account of the affair, Zig-Zag found that Steerly 
had entered the hall, and finding him there alone had 
demanded the apparatus, whereupon Budd had refused 
him and ordered him out of the building. Finding he 
could not get possession of the coveted articles by per¬ 
suasion, Steerly had attempted to overpower the stanch 
watcher, to be himself overcome. Then, doubtless hear¬ 
ing the approach of the boy conjurer he had leaped out 
of the window. 

“He must have been killed by such a fall,” said Zig- 
Zag. “We had better see what has happened to him.” 


62 Singular Conduct of Steerly. 

Going to the window and looking out, he saw that 
Steerly had evidently escaped any very serious injury, 
for he was nowhere to be seen. 

“Is he there ?” 

“I do not see him.” 

“Mebbe he hasn’t stopped yet. It was an awful boost. 
But look here. These papers fell out of his pocket. You 
can have ’em, though I claim the coat.” 

As Zig-Zag eagerly took the papers handed him by 
his companion, he saw that there was something written 
on them in the hand of Professor Wiswell. 

Before he had more than glanced at the writing, how¬ 
ever, the janitor of the hall entered the room, exclaiming: 

“I wonder if I am going to be allowed to shut up this 
building before morning? Usually I am allowed to lock 
up when the show is over.” 

“Pardon me,” said Zig-Zag, “I have had so much 
to trouble me I could not well clear up before. But I am 
done now, and you may close the hall. 

“Come, Budd, help me carry the apparatus over to 
the hotel.” 

“Such of it as you do not care to move will be safe 
here,” declared the janitor; “and you can get it in the 


Singular Conduct of Steerly. 63 

morning. I live at the house below the hotel. I will 
see that everything is fastened securely.” 

Zig-Zag felt obliged to accept this offer, and taking 
all that he and Budd could carry, which comprised the 
more important portions of the apparatus, he led the way 
back to the hotel. 

“You will have to stop with me to-night, Budd,” said 
the boy conjurer. “In the morning we will see what 
arrangements we can make for our mutual benefit.” 

“Ain’t we friends?” asked Budd, suddenly. 

“Friends? Of course, if I find you are honest, as I 
think you are, and disposed to do what is right. Why 
did you ask that question ?” 

“ ’Cos didn’t you say we should have to maul each other 
for fits?” 

“Hardly,” replied Zig-Zag, suppressing a laugh. “I 
meant we would talk the matter over and see what was 
best to do.” 

“Sho! Say, I want to buy fifty cents’ worth of ’em 
tricks for the half dollar you owe me.” 

“I will make that all right, and pay you the money 
besides, as soon as we get to our room.” 


64 Singular Conduct of Steerly. 

“Ain’t you going to follow up the chap as tried to steal 
your trick machines ?” 

“Not now. Please say nothing about the matter at tKe 
hotel. It would do no good. Of course the fellow will 
clear out and we shall not be troubled with him again.” 

By this time they had reached the hotel to be met at 
the door by Mr. Preston. 

“I suppose you want to take them things right up to 
your room, Mr. Wiswell.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“All O. K., follow me. I do not suppose you will 
object to the one the professor was to have. If you 
prefer you can have the one adjoining it, which was the 
one Steerly had engaged for you and him.” 

Though he could not have given any tangible reason 
for doing so, Zig-Zag said: 

“If it is all the same to you, I will take the last. My 
friend here, Mr. Newbegin, will stop with me.” 

“Very well. That scamp Steerly took one key with him, 
which I don’t suppose I shall ever see again. But here’s 
another. I wish you no further trouble and a good night’s 
rest, Mr. Wiswell. I will see that everything remains 
all right in the other apartments,” he added, significantly. 


Several sheets of paper and a light vapor floated out upon the a r, from which a small bird flew. 






































































































































Singular Conduct of Steerly. 65 

Thanking him, Zig-Zag took the key, and accompanied 
by Budd, went up the stairs to the room they were ex¬ 
pecting to occupy. 

“This must be the one,” he said, as he unlocked the 
door. “At last-” 

He did not finish the sentence, for he had barely crossed 
the threshold, when he started back with a low cry of 
amazement at finding himself confronted by the last per¬ 
son he would have thought of meeting there. 

It was John Steerly! 



CHAPTER VII. 


ZIG-ZAG PUZZLED AND STARTLED. 

It would be difficult to say which was the more sur¬ 
prized, Zig-Zag or Steerly, as the former opened the door. 

“What do you want ?” demanded Steerly; “and what is 
all this rumpus about ?” 

“I think, Mr. Steerly, you are the person to answer your 
own questions. I don’t understand what you mean by 
this treatment of me.” 

“Treatment of you ? If any one has any reason to com¬ 
plain, it is I over your dastardly conduct. You got me 
into a pretty mess over to the hall, didn’t you ? But it is 
a long road which has no turn. Who is that with you?” 
he went on, as he caught sight of Budd. 

“No one you need fear without cause. Where have you 
been ?” 

“How long has it been your business to overlook my 
actions? But to set your mind at rest, I will say that I 
have been here, in this room, all of the evening, when I 
have not been at the hall.” 

“B’gosh!” exclaimed Budd, it’s the chap I yanked the 


Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 67 

coat off’n! Hullo, mister! don’t you want the rest of 
your clothes ?” holding out the tattered remnant of Steer- 
ly’s coat. 

'‘Send him away!” exclaimed Steerly, angrily. “I 
don’t know what you mean by bringing him here. Send 
him away, I say, and come in here where you and I can 
talk. I have much I want to say to you.” 

Zig-Zag hesitated but a moment, when he said: 

“You may go into the next room, Mr. Newbegin, and 
remain there until I come. I will be in directly.” 

Showing considerable reluctance, Budd obeyed. 

“Now that we are alone, Mr. Steerly, I trust you will 
explain the meaning of your conduct.” 

“All you seem to think of is what I have or haven’t 
done,” uttered the other. Then, his manner becoming 
more agreeable, as Zig-Zag closed the door and sank into 
the nearest seat, he continued: “I do not wish to throw 
any semblance of mystery over my actions, and I am will¬ 
ing you should know that as soon as I left the hall I came 
directly to this room, and here I have been ever since.” 

“Do you mean the time you left the hall during the 
show, or since-” 

“Both, if you please to make a distinction. I came here 



68 Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 

the first time, and then, when you had got through with 
your performance, I went back to help you get the appa¬ 
ratus, with what result you seem to know. Ah, I am in¬ 
clined to think you put the dog up to it. It was a con¬ 
temptible trick, anyway, and we’ll see how much you 
gain by it. You may find that my friendship is as neces¬ 
sary to you as yours is to me.” 

“You have the door fee?” asked Zig-Zag, unheeding 
the other’s last word. 

“I have; and why should I not have it ? It belongs as 
much to me as you; ay, more, as I shall soon show.” 

“I am not objecting to that, but I do not like the 
way you entered Professor Wiswell’s room and over¬ 
hauled-” 

“I enter the professor’s room!” cried Steerly, springing 
to his feet. “Excuse me, you have learned just enough to 
make you suspicious. I do not blame you, but I was 
going to speak to you about the disgraceful affair. It 
was the shameful work of that landlord!” 

“Mr. Preston?” inquired Zig-Zag, with amazement. 
“That cannot be.” 

“It is so, and I know it. More than that, there are sus¬ 
picious circumstances concerned with our friend’s death, 



Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 69 

which demand attention. He appeared well enough, ex¬ 
cept for a thirst he felt, when I went to the landlord for 
a cup of tea. In less than three minutes after the poor 
man had drunk a portion of the concoction, he was dead! 
I have saved some of the liquid in a bottle here, and I am 
going to have it analyzed at the first opportunity. I 
knew from the moment I put my eyes on that man he was 
a villain. ,, 

“I cannot realize he would commit such a crime. What 
could have been his object ?” 

“I cannot answer that question any more than I can 
some others I might ask. But I will tell you what I will 
do; in the morning I will accuse him of it in your pres¬ 
ence, when we can both witness the result. A man’s guilt 
will generally show itself in spite of himself. What do 
you say?” 

“I don’t know what to say. Mr. Preston seems like an 
honest person.” 

“Let’s drop him for a few moments, as I want to ask 
you what we are going to do. This unfortunate affair 
has put us into a bad plight, but if we pull together I see 
no reason why we should not come out whistling. It is 
evident from your success to-night that you can give a 


70 Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 

show which will satisfy a country audience. You can 
count upon me to help you all in my power, and as soon as 
I have perfected myself in some of my weak places now 
I will take the burden from your shoulders. What do 
you say, shall we pull together ?” 

Zig-Zag was never more surprised in his life than by 
this unexpected approach of Steerly. The man’s man¬ 
ner had undergone a wonderful change, and he spoke in 
a pleasant tone, as if he had only the interest of both at 
his heart. 

“Of course I acknowledge I was hasty in trying so 
much to-night, but I promise not to repeat the offense. I 
can raise money enough to leave his body in the under¬ 
taker’s care, and he will see that it has proper burial. In 
that way we can go along as if nothing had happened. I 
will take the risks of the concern, and hire you by the 
month, paying you a handsome salary, so you will have 
nothing to fret you. Is not this fair?” 

“You seem to forget, Mr. Steerly, that this business was 
Professor Wiswell’s, not ours. He owned every cent’s 
worth of the apparatus. We have no right to take it and 
handle it as if it was our own. There may be heirs some- 


Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 71 

where to claim it all, and who will hold us responsible 
for it.” 

“Bah! who is going to be any wiser for what they can 
learn of the work done in this little country town? Of 
course/’ he added, seeing that what he had said did not 
find favor with his companion, “it is not our place to hunt 
up unlikely relatives who have not cared enough about 
the old man to look after him when he was living. It 
isn’t probable there is a person in the world who cares 
whether Watterson Wiswell is living or dead.” 

“John Steerly, how can you say that? He was all that 
a father could be to me, and I shall ever-” 

“Excuse me, of course I excepted you in your strange 
infatuation. He was kind to you, and it would be un¬ 
grateful if you did not cherish his memory.” 

“But this is foreign to the proposition I have made to 
you, and which you have not answered. When a man 
drops out of the world, another steps into his shoes and 
carries on the work he laid down. In this place, of course, 
it is my duty to assume the burden the professor has 
borne. I will see that you do not lose by the change. As 
a guarantee of what I will do for you, I will agree to pay 
you forty dollars a month and your expenses for your 


72 Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 

services. A boy of your age ought to be glad of such an 
opportunity. 

“In that case I shoulder all the risks, and we can go 
ahead as if nothing had occurred to alter the original 
plans. What do you say?” 

“You seem to ignore the fact, Mr. Steerly, that I have 
any interest in the company.” 

“Company? You have an interest? Of course you 
have, but not in a pecuniary way as I have. I do not 
suppose you know it, but the professor was owing me 
more than he was worth if such trash as he had could be 
given a market value. I had hoped I should not be forced 
to speak of this now.” 

“Professor Wiswell must have left some papers which 
would throw light upon his business. I am-” 

“So he must, but that dishonest landlord has seized 
them, though for what reason I cannot understand. In 
the morning, if you will go with me, I will demand them 
of him, and if he don’t hand them over we will have him 
arrested. 

“Here are the notes I hold against the name of Pro¬ 
fessor Wiswell,” added Steerly, displaying three or four 



Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 73 

sheets of paper in his hand. “Perhaps you prefer to wait 
until morning before you accept my offer.” 

“I do. I can think of nothing clearly now. I will see 
you then. Mr. Newbegin is waiting for me, and I will re¬ 
main with him the rest of the night.” 

Zig-Zag found Budd anxiously awaiting him in the next 
room. 

“Still up, Budd? It is time you were in bed.” 

“B’gosh! I don’t know about going to bed ’tall. Say, 
I have got a conundrum for you to answer.” 

“I can’t stop for anything of that kind, Budd, if I could 
fix my thoughts upon it. I have weightier matters upon 
my mind. Please go to bed, while I look over these pa¬ 
pers, and try and decide what is best for me to do. I will 
follow you soon.” 

Zig-Zag had taken the crumpled sheets of paper from 
his pocket which Steerly had dropped in his headlong es¬ 
cape from Sinclair Hall. 

There were three of these sheets, two of foolscap size, 
and the other a trifle smaller. The latter was the first to 
receive his attention, and as he smoothed it out upon the 
table, he saw that one side was covered with writing in a 


74 Zig-Zag puzzled and Startled. 

strange hand. With little difficulty he read the following 
incomplete message: 

“Cell io a, Sept. 16. 

“My Dear Wife and Baby Boy: I know not if you 
will get this, but I trust and hope it may find you. Under 
what circumstances I dare not anticipate. How desolate 
is my own heart I cannot describe. This disgrace—this 
suffering—seems more than I can bear, and what with all 
you must endure it seems I must beat out my brains 
against the cold walls of this horrible den. Only one 
thought lifts my mind from absolute despair—I am inno¬ 
cent ; and one dream cheers me even in my loneliness—the 
world may some time know it. But I must not dwell too 
long upon this, for I have much of greater importance to 
say. Like a vision the truth has come to me and-” 

There it ended, the writer having reached the bottom of 
the paper. The upper right-hand corner of the sheet had 
been torn off, so the date line and that above it were in¬ 
complete. 

Hoping the other sheets might throw some light upon 
the mystery, Zig-Zag turned to one of them, which he 
found to his surprise was covered with the well-known 
chirography of Professor Wiswell. It was evidently one 
of several, for it bore the folio number of “6.” With 
what interest may be imagined, he read: 

* * * “what feelings I gazed on that scene cannot be 

described. She looked more beautiful than ever. She 



75 


Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 

had drawn the easy rocker I had given her at our last an¬ 
niversary to the side of the table next to the window 
where she sat sewing as I had seen her so many times in 
the happy years gone by. In my chair sat a stranger. 
But I did not give him a second glance, as I looked for 
our baby—little golden-haired Ora. Then a mist seemed 
to come over my eyes, as I sought for our darling in vain. 
The little arm-chair could not be seen. Could it be 
possi-” 

With trembling hand Zig-Zag picked up the last sheet, 
but a shade of disappointment came over his features, as 
he saw thereon only this: 

“LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF WATTER- 
SON WISWELL.” 

“Conscious of the uncertainty of life, and being in sound 
mind-” 

Was anything more perplexing? This, like the sec¬ 
ond sheet, was in the professor’s hand, and was without 
doubt a discarded sheet he had used in making, or be¬ 
ginning to make, his will. Was the other a leaf from his 
life history? If so, where were the rest? And who had 
written the first paper? He studied the writing more 
carefully, without discovering any familiar traces. 

His mind filled with conflicting thoughts, he lay down 




76 Zig-Zag Puzzled and Startled. 

upon the couch beside Budd, to soon sink into an uneasy 
slumber. 

How long he had slept he could not tell, when he was 
aroused by a loud thumping upon the door: 

“Who is there? and what is wanted?” he demanded, 
starting up. 

“It is I—Preston! Come out here as quick as you 
can. That body is gone I” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


TRACES OF THE MISSING TRUNK. 

“Professor Wiswell’s body gone?” asked Zig-Zag, un¬ 
able to comprehend the other’s startling statement. 

“Yes; I want to know what all this means! Are you 
coming out at once ?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Zig-Zag had sprung out of bed, and slipping on his 
pants, he opened the door for the landlord who was trem¬ 
bling as if undergoing great excitement. 

“I don’t understand it!” he said. “It was there all 
right at midnight, but the next time Dalton, the watcher, 
went into the room, which could not have been two hours 
later, the body was missing. Of course it could not have 
got away without help.” 

“Have you spoken to Mr. Steerly ?” 

“Hello! what means this disturbance?” demanded the 
well-known voice of Steerly himself before Mr. Preston 
could reply, while the former stepped out into the hall 
from his room. 


78 Traces of the Missing Trunk. 

The landlord quickly explained the situation to the 
other, who seemed scarcely less surprised than Zig-Zag. 

“Of course the thing did not get up and walk out of the 
house/’ he said. “Dead men don’t generally do that. 
Some one has removed the body.” 

“Who?” asked the landlord. 

“Let us examine the room where it was left,” said 
Steerly. “It may have slipped upon the floor and be 
lying concealed under something which has escaped your 
gaze. No doubt you were excited when you looked.” 

Mr. Preston led the way into the apartment which had 
been set apart for the dead, without replying. 

If Steerly really expected to prove his words, he was 
disappointed, for search where they would, no trace of the 
body could be found. 

“I am sure it is not in the house,” said Mr. Preston. 

Then Steerly turned upon his host, with a peculiar look 
upon his countenance, and an intonation to his voice which 
Zig-Zag could not understand, and said: 

“I have no doubt but you know.” 

The landlord suddenly turned pale, though quickly re¬ 
covering his self-possession, he exclaimed: 


“Explain your meaning, sir.” 



“The next moment Zig-Zag 
less of the consequence.” 


thrust his hand into the opening, regard 

(Seepage 87) 































* 
















































' 






























' 









Traces of the Missing Trunk. 79 

“Mr. Preston,” said Steerly, looking him steadily in the 
face, “I hope you won’t force me to say the unpleasant 
truths in my mind.” 

The landlord’s hands clasped and unclasped as if he 
would seize hold of the other, but trying to appear calm, 
he said: 

“Explain your meaning, sir, in as few words as pos¬ 
sible.” 

“Just as you say, Mr. Preston, and upon second thought 
it may be best, for it will give you a chance to tell us what 
business you had in the room of your guest after he had 
left it.” 

Zig-Zag, who was watching both men closely, saw the 
landlord look paler than ever, while he trembled from 
head to foot. Clutching at the back of a chair for sup¬ 
port, he exclaimed: 

“I have been in no one’s room where I did not have 
business.” 

“Pray what was your business in Watterson Wiswell’s 
room, and what did you bring out ?” 

Turning abruptly upon his heel the landlord left them 
without replying. 

“You can judge for yourself whether I was right or 


8 o Traces of the Missing Trunk. 

not,” said Steerly to Zig-Zag. “He is a rascal from the 
word ‘go.’ ” 

It is little wonder if Zig-Zag knew not what to say or 
think. 

If Steerly was assuming a part, he was doing it most 
successfully. 

“Come, let us stir ourselves. That body has not been 
moved for any honest reasons, and we must find it if it is 
in our power. Let’s look the room over now we are 
alone.” 

Zig-Zag followed him into the apartment in silence, and 
though they looked the room carefully through, they 
found nothing to solve the mystery. 

“Mr. Steerly,” said Zig-Zag, suddenly, “what do you 
suppose has become of his trunk ? It is not in his room.” 

“It was there when he died,” replied Steerly. 
“That-” 

The appearance of Mr. Preston caused him to stop with 
his sentence unfinished. 

“I have found a clew!” exclaimed the landlord. “There 
are footprints under the window where some one has been! 
I do not know how far they can be followed, but I have 
no doubt we shall track the owner down.” 


Traces of the Missing Trunk. 81 

Naturally enough, this announcement caused great ex¬ 
citement, Steerly to all appearances now becoming the 
most anxious of the three. 

Mr. Preston had already procured a lantern, and with 
this in hand he led the way around the house to the win¬ 
dow opening from the fateful room. 

By this time our little party was joined by the hostler 
and the chore boy. 

For a short distance from the house on that side the 
ground was soft, so the footsteps of a man were to be 
plainly seen in the yielding soil. But after going a few 
yards a sward was reached where all impression of the 
tracks disappeared. 

“It is no use,” said Mr. Preston, at last. “We might as 
well wait until daylight, which is not far off. There didn’t 
seem to be but one man, but I don't see how he could 
have carried it off alone.” 

Steerly did not seem inclined to offer any suggestion, 
but rather went back into the house, to retire to his room. 

Zig-Zag followed his example, to find Budd sleeping as 
soundly as ever. 

The boy conjurer felt that it would be useless to attempt 
to sleep any more that night, and he threw himself into 


82 Traces of the Missing Trunk, 

the nearest chair to think and ponder over his unwelcome 
situation. 

What should he do next? 

He had never liked Steerly, which fact may have caused 
his distrust for him now, though he felt he had suffi¬ 
cient reasons for believing him intent upon dishonest pur¬ 
poses. His whole course of action since they had got to 
Qimmerton showed that he had some hidden object at 
stake. Was it possible Professor Wiswell had been the 
possessor of property, which Steerly was plotting to get? 

Zig-Zag was inclined to think that it had been Steerly 
rather than Preston who had taken the conjurer’s trunk 
and papers. But how could the former have got it away 
without being seen? It must have been done in broad 
daylight. 

This trunk was of good size and substantially made. 
Steerly had one somewhat smaller. Zig-Zag carried no 
trunk, but found a large valise ample to hold all he had 
taken with him. 

Trying to unravel at least one thread in the chain of 
mystery which had become wound about his fate in this 
country tavern, our hero passed the time until daylight 
began to stream into the window. 


Traces of the Missing Trunk. 83 

About this time Budd Newbegin woke up, and seeing his 
companion sitting in his chair, he exclaimed: 

“B’gosh, what made you get up so early?” 

“I have been up this two hours. Budd, do you know 
what sort of a man this Mr. Preston is?” 

“I should snicker if I didn’t. He’s just such a man as 
Sam Goodhate is. There you are posted right off quick.” 

“That might be if I knew Mr. Goodhate, but as I do 
not happen to have that pleasure, I fail to see-” 

“B’gosh! I guess that’s so. Well, Sam’s a peeler; that 
is, he tries to be.” 

“I am afraid your evidence would not amount to much 
on a witness stand, Budd. What is a peeler?” 

“A peeler ? Well, b’gosh! a peeler is a chap that ain’t 
one thing nor ’nother. He’s too good to be bad, and he’s 
too bad to be good. Reckon I’ve floored you now.” 

“I think I understand you now; and I half agree with 
you. Ha! what is that ?” 

The last exclamation was called forth from Zig-Zag at 
discovering a small pile of soot on the floor directly under 
the chimney flue, and in its midst a piece of soiled paper. 

To Zig-Zag, in his anxious state of mind, nothing was 



84 Traces of the Missing Trunk. 

so trifling in its appearance that it did not seem of im¬ 
portance enough to be noticed. 

He picked up the bit of paper, and shaking the dust 
from it, scanned it eagerly in the uncertain light of early 
morning, to find only a few characters made upon one 
side with a pen. 

‘‘The professor’s work,” he said, and then, as he looked 
at the wall more closely, he saw that the “thimble” used 
to stop the aperture for the stovepipe—no stove was in 
the room—had been disturbed within a short time. 

Removing the covering with a trembling hand, he 
peered into the dark orifice, when he saw that some object 
was hanging in the throat of the chimney. 

At that moment some one thumped loudly upon the 
door. 


CHAPTER IX. 


DISAPPEARANCE OF STEERLY. 

“Who is there ?” demanded Zig-Zag. 

“I, Steerly,” replied the one without. “Are you going 
to sleep all day? Open the door so I can come in, for I 
want to talk with you.” 

“In a minute,” replied the boy conjurer. “I am afraid 
I am more than commonly sleepy this morning.” 

It seemed provoking that Steerly should interrupt him 
at that moment, but resolving that the other should not 
know of his discovery, even if it was of no importance, 
Zig-Zag hastily replaced the cover and brushed the soot 
from his hands. 

Then, with a warning gesture to Budd, he started 
toward the door. 

“Are you going to keep me waiting here all day?” 
asked Steerly, impatiently. 

“I suppose you will give me time to dress,” retorted 
Zig-Zag, as he opened the door. 

“I have too much on hand to fritter away our time in 
bed,” declared Steerly, as he stepped into the room, cast- 


86 Disappearance of Steerly. 

ing a sharp look about the apartment, until his gaze rested 
on the apparatus of the conjurer. 

“Ah, here it is,” he said. “I think I will take charge of 
this now,” advancing to the corner where the boxes and 
bundles had been hastily deposited. 

“Stop!” exclaimed the boy conjurer, “you must not 
touch it. You will disarrange everything so it will take 
me all day to straighten matters out. You know Pro¬ 
fessor Wiswell was always very particular about that,” 
he added, seeing the look of amazement upon the other’s 
countenance. 

“So that is your reason, is it?” sneered Steerly. “How 
long is it since pollywogs have begun to swim ?” 

“Sir! if you have nothing better to say you might 
have remained out of the room. As long as I act my 
part in this company, that apparatus remains in my care.” 

“Oh, excuse me; of course it shall be as you say. But 
I thought it would be safer in my room. You know we 
have got to be out looking for that body, and I didn’t 
know but this fellow with you might be disturbing 
things.” 

“I will answer for him. You can go downstairs if you 
wish; I will join you in a few minutes.” 


Disappearance of Steerly. 87 

“Which is as much as to say, I suppose, that you do not 
wish my company here. ,, 

“If you choose to put that meaning to my words you 
can, Mr. Steerly. ,, 

“You may live to regret those words, Mr. Wiswell. But 
as I did not come here to pick a quarrel with you, I will 
leave you with your precious chum who seems more to 
your liking than myself.” 

Though Zig-Zag doubted his wisdom in answering 
Steerly as he had done, he was delighted to see him leave 
the apartment, and to hear his heavy step descending the 
stairs. 

Zig-Zag quickly closed and locked the door, saying at 
the same time to Budd: 

“Please stand here, and the moment you hear any one 
coming, let me know. I am going to see what that is in 
the chimney.” 

Springing from the couch, Budd quickly put on his 
clothes in readiness to carry out the request of his com¬ 
panion, while Zig-Zag again removed the thimble to peer 
into the flue. 

The next moment he thrust his hand into the opening, 


88 Disappearance of Steerly. 

regardless of the consequence, to pull out a tangled mass 
of hoop iron, leather and wood. 

As he held the blackened debris up before his gaze, a 
low cry of surprise left his lips. 

“It is a part of Mr. Wiswell’s trunk!” he exclaimed, 
under his breath. “And the rest must be in the chim¬ 
ney !” 

Feeling considerable excitement, Zig-Zag again thrust 
his arm into the opening, though he failed to find any¬ 
thing further to reward him for his trouble. 

“The rest has fallen to the bottom of the chimney, ,, he 
said. “Whoever did this must have broken the trunk 
into pieces and dropped them in here, the handiest hiding 
place. As it is a box chimney, no doubt the ruins have 
fallen to the bottom, where they cannot be reached. Can 
it be Mr. Wiswell’s papers were put in here with the 
pieces of trunk ?” 

Of course Budd was not expected to answer this ques¬ 
tion. 

Zig-Zag, however, was now quite sure that Steerly had 
removed the trunk in this way, for it did not seem reason¬ 
able that Mr. Preston would have taken this manner to 
conceal the evidence of his work. 


8 9 


Disappearance of Steerly. 

“I hear some one coming!” whispered Budd. 

“How provoking! What shall I do with this piece of 
trunk ? I will put it under the bed.” 

Suiting the action to the word, Zig-Zag had barely car¬ 
ried out his plan and thrown a rug over the floor where 
the soot had fallen, when the voice of Mr. Preston was 
heard, saying: 

“I guess you had better come downstairs as soon as you 
can, Mr. Wiswell, for I do not like the way that Steerly is 
prowling about. He has gone over to the hall now.” 

“I will be down in a minute, Mr. Preston.” 

“Excuse me for troubling you; that will be all right.” 

“Budd, I have a favor to ask of you,” said Zig-Zag, 
as he hastily concealed the evidence of his discovery. 
“You understand something of my situation here, and 
while I am gone I don’t want you to leave this room 
under any circumstances, and if Mr. Steerly comes back 
do not let him come in.” 

“Not if he hews the door down!” replied the other. 

“I think I can trust you.” 

With these words Zig-Zag went below to meet the 
landlord, who was anxiously awaiting him. 

“Steerly has gone over to the hall, though I do not 


90 Disappearance of Steerly. 

think he can get in yet. Why, of course the janitor has 
not got around yet. I am afraid you have had a poor 
night’s rest.” 

“I don’t suppose you have learned anything concerning 
the disappearance of the body?” 

“Not a thing. One of the selectmen lives at the village 
here, and I am going to speak to him as soon as I see 
any signs of his being up.” 

“Mr. Preston, if anything should be dropped in the 
chimney from one of the flues, where would it be likely 
to stop?” 

“What! you don’t think the body has fallen down the 
chimney? Why, that could not be.” 

“Excuse me, I did not mean that. But supposing I had 
dropped a small object into the pipe hole from the room I 
occupied last night, would it be likely to stop before it 
got to the bottom of the chimney ?” 

“I see,” said the landlord, with a breath of relief. “No; 
it would fall into the cellar. Say, I had a flue made in the 
chimney down cellar last winter, so I could have a fire 
there to keep my potatoes from freezing, and if you would 
like you can go down and see if you can get your prop¬ 
erty.” 


Disappearance of Steerly. 91 

This was an opportunity Zig-Zag had not looked for, 
and he quickly accepted the offer. 

He found nothing, however, to reward him for his 
trouble, and he gave up, more in the dark than ever. 

By that time Steerly had returned to the house, ap¬ 
pearing very impatient to begin the search. 

He appeared very sociable to Zig-Zag, even asking his 
pardon for the hasty words he had uttered. 

The selectman mentioned was seen, and he at once en¬ 
tered into the undertaking of the search, with a confi¬ 
dence the others did not have. 

Not finding any trace about the buildings, the men—and 
by that time several more had joined the party—separated 
and began to scour the adjacent country. 

Fearing for the safety of the apparatus at the hall, Zig- 
Zag had carried it to the hotel with the rest, to leave Budd 
still in charge of it. 

“Remember what I told you before, Budd. I shan’t 
be gone very long, and I will pay you for your time if 
you are faithful to your duty.” 

“You ought to know by this time that I am a busi¬ 
ness man. No Cowly is coming in here, unless he walks 
over my dead body!” 


92 Disappearance of Steerly. 

“I hope it won’t come to that, but keep a sharp lookout, 
and I will do the same.” 

Zig-Zag was called from the hotel, farther away than he 
had expected, and from necessity he lost sight of Steerly 
two or three times. 

Finally it was decided that the search was useless, for 
beyond the footprints leading from the window, not a 
sign could be found of the missing object, or of those 
who had taken it. 

Zig-Zag was joined by Mr. Preston, the selectman and 
two townsmen, each one of whom was positive it was use¬ 
less to continue the search, so it was decided to return to 
the hotel. 

“Where is Mr. Steerly?” asked Zig-Zag, who saw that 
the other was not to be seen. 

“He went farther to the south,” replied Mr. Preston. 
“We shall find him at the house without doubt. Come, 
let’s go home.” 

It was about ten o’clock in the forenoon when the little 
party got back to the hotel, and Zig-Zag was looking anx¬ 
iously for Steerly, when Mrs. Preston came rushing out 
of the house, crying: 

“I am so glad you have come! That Mr. Steerly has 


Disappearance of Steerly. 93 

been here, Mr. Wiswell, and gone off with a team. I 
hope he hasn’t taken anything belonging to you.” 

With dread forebodings of what had taken place, Zig- 
Zag ran up the stairs, to find the door of his room wide 
open and Budd Newbegin nowhere to be seen. 

Looking excitedly into the apartment, he saw to his 
dismay that the apparatus was gone! 


CHAPTER X. 


A STARTLING REAPPEARANCE. 

“Where is Budd Newbegin?” was Zig-Zag’s first ques¬ 
tion. 

“The youngster who was with you? I had forgotten 
him; but come to think of it, I have not seen him since Mr. 
Steerly went away.” 

“How did Mr. Steerly go, and which way?” 

“The first I knew,” said Mrs. Preston, who was an¬ 
swering Zig-Zag’s questions, “he drove up to the door 
with one of the neighbor’s horse and wagon. He said 
he had bought the team, and began at once to load the 
trunks and things into the wagon, Dalton helping him. 
He said he was going to Norton Narrows, but I noticed 
he did not start that way.” 

“Did Budd Newbegin go with him?” 

“He did not that I know of. In fact I am sure he was 
not with him.” 

“Then, what can have become of him ?” 

“Perhaps he is about the buildings, though I have not 


seen him.” 



“ Budd pulled in the horse with an abruptness which not only threw 
the animal upon its haunches, but sent him headlong to the ground.” 

(See page ioi) 












































































































































































































95 


A Startling Reappearance. 

“Did not Ivlr. Steerly mention my name?” 

“Yes; he said you were to come after him, and that he 
was going ahead to get ready for the show to-night.” 

Nothing further of importance was learned to throw 
any light on the mystery of Steerly’s conduct, or the dis¬ 
appearance of Budd. 

It was found that Steerly had actually bought the team 
he had gone away with, and paid in full for it. 

Zig-Zag was at a loss more than ever to know what to 
do, but in the midst of his dilemma Mr. Benton, the se¬ 
lectman, who seemed like an honest person, called him 
aside. 

“You appear like a trustworthy boy, Master Wiswell,” 
said the selectman, as soon as they were alone, “and I 
want to ask you a few questions for your good. 

“Do you think this man Steerly has been conniving 
with Preston here to carry out his plans ?” 

“I can tell no more than you can,” replied Zig-Zag. “I 
have been thinking that Mr. Preston has acted very pecul¬ 
iarly in this matter.” 

“That would be nothing strange, for I have no better 
opinion of him. I don’t like the looks of this affair, but I 


96 A Startling Reappearance. 

can’t see as we can prove anything against Preston if we 
were to have him arrested.” 

“Now then, the best thing for you to do is to do noth¬ 
ing. I will make out a warrant, as I happen to be the 
nearest to a lawyer of any one found in this back town, 
and let you swear to it, and then we will see if Sheriff 
Flanders cannot find the rascal. He will be the first man 
to elude him. So keep quiet for an hour or so.” 

This was about as hard a thing as he could have asked 
ol our hero, but he managed to content himself after a 
fashion, while every one around him discussed what was 
a “nine days’ wonder” to these quiet townspeople. 

It seemed most singular that Budd Newbegin should 
have disappeared so suddenly and completely. 

During this interval of waiting, Zig-Zag resolved to 
make a full explanation of his situation to Mr. Benton, 
and thus appeal to his assistance in his hour of need. 

Subsequent events proved that this was the wisest 
course he could have followed. 

When he had finished, the other said: 

“I am glad you were level-headed enough to come to 
me in regard to this matter, and I promise to see you 
through in first-class shape. As soon as I have dis- 


A Startling Reappearance. 97 

patched this warrant to Flanders, I will make out a peti¬ 
tion to the court to have you appointed administrator of 
Professor Wiswell’s estate. No; I cannot do that, for 
you are a minor. Well, in that case, perhaps I had bet¬ 
ter take it myself. It shall not interfere in any way with 
your business, for I will select you as my agent. Between 
us we will see what we can do toward foiling Mr. Steerly. 
To be honest, it is my belief there is money somewhere 
left by your foster-parent, and this Steerly is trying to 
get possession of it.” 

Zig-Zag had never felt so grateful to any one in his 
life, if I except his regard for Professor Wiswell, and he 
returned to the hotel in better spirits than he had known 
since the previous day. 

In the face of his other troubles he could not forget, 
however, that he was booked to give an exhibition that 
evening at Norton Narrows, and he wondered how he 
should meet the disappointed people. 

It was already past noon, and about two o’clock Zig- 
Zag hired a team of Mr. Preston to take him over to Nor¬ 
ton, the landlord’s boy going with him to come back with 
the horse in case he should decide to stop overnight. 

Nothing had been heard from the sheriff, and no trace 


98 A Startling Reappearance. 

of the missing body, though Mr. Benton promised that 
the search should not be given up while there was a hope 
of ultimate success. 

“I will keep my eyes and ears open, Zig-Zag, and keep 
you posted,” said Mr. Benton. “I warn you to look out 
for yourself. Come back here when you can conveniently, 
and post me if there is anything new.” 

Not knowing what might happen, Zig-Zag took his 
valise with him, and also the box, which was all he had 
of Professor Wiswell’s possessions. 

Then, bidding adieu to the few acquaintances he had 
made at Glimmerton, he started for Norton Narrows. 

The day was pleasant, considering the lateness of the 
season, and Zig-Zag would have enjoyed his ride to Nor¬ 
ton had his mind been filled with less harrowing thoughts. 

As it was he scarcely noticed the rugged scenery which 
stretched continually upon either hand. He was wonder¬ 
ing what he should do when he got to his destination, and 
more than this, what was to be done after that. If the 
apparatus should be recovered, he could continue on the 
conjuring tour, but somehow he had little faith to think 
they would find Steerly, whom he knew to be a crafty 


man. 


A Startling Reappearance. 99 

While he was thus buried in deep meditation, very much 
to the chagrin of his companion, who was inclined to be 
talkative, more than two-thirds of the distance to the 
Narrows was passed, when all at once the driver ex¬ 
claimed : 

“I hear some one driving like the old Harry! We are 
followed.” 

Zig-Zag had already heard the sound of a vehicle being 
borne over the rocky road at a furious pace, and looked 
up, at first unable to locate the direction whence the out¬ 
break came. 

“It is not behind us,” he said. “Isn’t there another 
road coming down from our left—look there!” 

They had reached the summit of a considerable hill, 
and gazing out in the direction indicated by Zig-Zag, a 
team could be seen on another swell of land. 

The horse was evidently rushing on at the top of its 
speed, and it quickly disappeared into the valley lying 
between the two eminences. 

“Doesn’t this road meet that below here?” asked Zig- 
Zag, as he took a hasty survey of the country. 

“Yes.” 


loo A Startling Reappearance. 

“Whip up, then. If it is a runaway, some one may 
need our help.” 

Eager for the excitement, the boy whipped up the 
horse, which was a spirited animal, so they were soon 
dashing down the descent at a wild rate of speed. 

Going at that furious pace they soon came in sight 
of the forks of the roads, and just in the nick of time to 
see the runaway team reach the place. 

The horse was being driven by a wild-appearing driver, 
who was standing bolt upright in the wagon and flourish¬ 
ing a whip in the air, as he shouted: 

“Yir-rup, old stockings! Right this way for the camp¬ 
grounds. Yir-rup!” 

Even before the shrill voice had reached his ears, Zig- 
Zag had recognized the erratic driver as Budd New- 
begin! 

He was bareheaded, and his long yellow hair was fly¬ 
ing about his head, while one of his coat sleeves, ripped 
from wristband to shoulder, flopped in the breeze, as he 
swung his long, flail-like arm in the air. 

“Hello, Budd!” sung out Zig-Zag, “hold up a mo¬ 
ment.” 

Turning suddenly to catch a sight of our hero, the 


A Startling Reappearance. ioi 

crazy Budd pulled in the horse with an abruptness which 
not only threw the animal upon its haunches, but sent 
him headlong to the ground, followed by several articles 
of the conjurer’s art. 

Fortunately, Zig-Zag and his companion gained the 
spot before the struggling horse did any damage, and, 
quieting the creature with a few soothing words, the boy 
conjurer helped Budd to his feet. 

“In mercy’s name, Budd, where have you been ? What 
has happened?” 

“Sol Ginger! who’d a-thought it? Whoop! I’ve got 
’em all there in the waggin—every shaving of ’em. I’m 
a business man.” 

“Explain yourself, Budd. I don’t understand what all 
this means. Where have you been?” 

“Ain’t I ’splaining? Just wait till I get this dirt out 
of my mouth, and I’ll tell you how I skinned the old duf¬ 
fer’s eyes and took the ribbons into my own hands. The 
duds are all there, and I tell you I’m a business man.” 


CHAPTER XI. 


“EGGS_EGGSACTLY ! ” 

Budd Newbegin was too much excited to make any 
lucid explanation of his adventures, so Zig-Zag waited 
with what patience he could for the other to recover 
his wonted composure. 

He saw, to his unbounded delight, that the apparatus 
was apparently all safe, and in the wagon he could see 
Steerly’s trunk. 

“Well, Budd,” said Zig-Zag, at last, “I am impatient 
to hear what you have done. I thought you had gone 
back on me.” 

“Gone back on you! I guess you don’t know me yet. 
When Budd Newbegin goes back on a pard you can 
set it down that the sun is on a strike and the universe 
has concluded to get along without him. I tell you, Zig, 

it’s s’prisin’ what one feller can do all alone. I tell you 

* 

I have done some big adventures since you left me.” 

“I don’t doubt it; but tell me how Steerly came to 

get off with the apparatus-” 

“He didn’t get off with it. Ain’t it here? But if it 



“Eggs—Eggsactly!” 103 

hadn’t been for me you would never have seen it again. 
I tell you no Cowly can get ahead of me.” 

All this was exasperating to the impatient Zig-Zag, but 
all he could do was to let the other tell his story as he 
would. 

It seemed that Budd, while at his post of duty, fell 
asleep and slept so soundly that Steerly removed the en¬ 
tire lot of apparatus without awakening him! He did 
not come to a realization of what was being done until 
Steerly had got his load in readiness for starting. 

Smarting from the realization that he had not done 
his duty, Budd ran down the stairs and out into the shed 
where the team was standing. 

“B’gosh! I didn’t know what to do,” he continued. 
“Cowly weren’t right there, but I see him coming. I had 
climbed onto the waggin, and seeing one of the boxes 
was nearly empty, I dropped into it, thinking to hide from 
him till he should leave the place for a minute again, when 
I was going to unload the whole lot of stuff. 

“Well, I heard Cowly, or Steerly, as you call him, climb 
up onto the waggin, and then I knowed from the jolting 
the horse was starting. You see, I had got myself into 


104 “Eggs—Eggsactly!” 

a purty pickle, I darsn’t holler, so I kept still, to be carted 
off like a great big carrot in a punkin shell. 

‘‘There were some big clothes in the box, and I pulled 
’em up over and around me, so I felt tolerable comfort¬ 
able, and mebbe I went to sleep again. If I did, I woke 
up when it was time for me, and the waggin didn’t seem 
to be moving. 

“I poked up my head keerful like, and at furst I didn’t 
see nothing of Cowly. Then I see the horse was hitched 
to a tree by the roadside, where there wasn’t a house to 
be seen. Happening to look over into the pasture on my 
right, my hat rose right up on my head when I see that 
blamed Cowly a trudging off with a box on his shoul¬ 
der, and a something which looked like a shovel in one 
hand. 

“I just let him tramp, and kept still, until he’d got out 
of sight, when I got out of that box in a jiffy, unhitched 
that horse, and driv away without saying Tom Robinson 
to anybody. 

“I driv keerful for a while, and then faster and faster, 
until I was just humming it when you see me. What 
you been doing?” 


“Eggs—Eggsactly I” 105 

“So you haven’t seen anything of Steerly since you left 
him?” 

“Of course not. I ain’t been letting no grass grow 
under my heels. I tell you I’m a hummer. Say, we are 
going to give that show to the Narrows to-night, ain’t 
we? The ’couterments are all here.” 

“You must give me time to think, Budd; this is so 
unexpected I am not prepared to decide on anything 
rationally. Of course Steerly will follow you as soon as 
he finds his team is gone.” 

“Well, what if he does? I guess we three can shake 
the nation out of him. But let’s hustle for the Narrows.” 

“Perhaps we had better, for I have no time to spare 
to get ready for the entertainment. We might as well 
take Mr. Steerly’s team along with us. If he follows he 
can get it, but if he does not, I will send word back to 
Glimmerton by Joe here that it is at the Narrows.” 

Having come to this conclusion, the journey to Norton 
Narrows was resumed, Zig-Zag taking his valise and 
getting into the wagon driven by Budd, then allowing Joe 
to return to Glimmerton with Mr. Preston’s team. 

Zig-Zag found Norton Narrows a larger village than 
he had expected, and, unlike Glimmerton, it seemed like a 


io 6 “Eggs—Eggsactly!” 

thriving place. There were two small shops and some 
other industries, so he anticipated he would have a fair- 
sized audience. 

The hall had been already engaged, and the janitor was 
anxiously awaiting his appearance. 

So, losing as little time as possible in the preliminary 
arrangements, Zig-Zag, assisted by Budd, began to carry 
the apparatus into the hall, which, like that at Glimmer- 
ton, was on the second floor. 

Of course a curtain had to be put up at the rear end, 
but a permanent platform had been built across the entire 
width of the hall, so they were saved this task. 

By the time their work was done it was dark, and the 
twain were glad to repair to their stopping place for a 
brief rest. 

As this was Budd’s first attempt to assist, it was neces¬ 
sary Zig-Zag should “coach” him, as it is called, and the 
young wizard was naturally afraid the other would fail 
in his part, for very much of the success of the conjurer 
often depends on his assistant. 

Accordingly in the hurry of the preparations, the boy 
conjurer for the time forgot everything else. He had 


“Eggs—Eggsactly!” 107 

seen that Steerly’s horse had been given proper care, 
but the other’s trunk he had not given a second thought. 

He had selected the janitor, who was recommended to 
him as a trustworthy person, to sell the tickets and to 
find another to take them at the door. 

The time seemed to fly, and almost before he knew it 
the hour for the entertainment had come and the specta¬ 
tors had begun to gather. 

“Don’t forget all I have told you, Budd,” admonished 
Zig-Zag, as his companion began to grow excited and 
nervous. 

Promptly at the promised moment Zig-Zag signed to 
Budd to run up the curtain, when the boy conjurer, 
looking as smiling and confident as if he had never 
known trouble, stood before the audience, and as he raised 
the magic wand he was greeted by cheers from the 
spectators. 

Then the hall became silent as his silvery, bewitching 
voice fell upon the scene. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will open our evening’s en¬ 
tertainment with an intermission of ten minutes.” 

While the on-lookers gazed upon him in amazement at 
this unexpected statement, he continued; 


108 “Eggs—Eggsactly!” 

“During this intermission I will partake of a little lunch, 
if you do not object. Before I can have this lunch, I have 
got to cook it, and before I can cook it I have got to pro¬ 
cure it. Ha! I have it! No, I mean I have it to get. ,, 

“Eggsactly!” called out a gruff voice from the rear 
of the hall. 

At the sound of this voice every one turned to see who 
had spoken, to see a member from the rural district look¬ 
ing exceedingly sheepish, though he had not opened his 
lips, it having been the “second voice” of our ventrilo¬ 
quist, the boy conjurer. 

“Never mind him who has just spoken,” said Zig-Zag, 
urbanely. “I have got used to such interruptions. By 
the way, I must thank the gentlemen for suggesting what 
my lunch shall be. I move we shall have eggs. I am very 
fond of eggs; and I will show you that I can eat more 
eggs than any man in the house.” 

“Eggscept me!” piped a shrill voice from the right- 
hand side of the hall, followed by applause from the 
crowd. 

“We will see about that,” said the boy conjurer. “If 
my friend can eat more eggs than I can, I will wager 


u Eggs—Eggsactly!” 109 

my finger nail he hasn’t got such a hen to lay them as 
I have. Biddy, Biddy, Biddy!” 

Then, to the amazement of the spectators Budd New- 
begin, with his shuffling, shambling gait, appeared upon 
the stage. 

“This Shanghai, as you will all observe,” said Zig-Zag, 
“isn’t a very promising-looking pullet, but I will soon 
show you that she can lay more eggs than any two-legged 
hen in Norton. Now for the proof.” 

“Eggspeditiously!” said a voice from the distance. 

“I wish the gentlemen would not interrupt me.” 

“Eggscuse me!” called another from a different part 
of the hall, “but I eggspect to eggsplain eggstraordinary 
eggshibition eggs-” 

“I cannot explain my lunch unless the gentlemen will 
refrain from speaking. However, if there is any gentle¬ 
man here who wishes to make a speech, I will allow him 
ten minutes of my time.” 

A deathlike stillness followed, and the boy conjurer 
continued: 

“My friend,” speaking to Budd, “please face the crowd 
and look pleasant. Hold this plate with both your hands, 
and don’t drop it, upon the peril of your life. You know 


I io “Eggs—Eggsactly!” 

I want some eggs for my supper, and that my sole de¬ 
pendence is in you. Now, then, look me straight in the 
face and imagine yourself a huge Shanghai pullet,” and 
as he spoke Zig-Zag began to wave his wand back and 
forth in front of his victim, who soon began to roll his 
eyes and appear as if he was choking. 

Then he gave a gulp, and his lips beginning to pro¬ 
trude, the shell of an egg showed itself in his mouth. 

“Eureka!” cried Zig-Zag, “my supper is assured. You 
all see I made no idle boast,” holding the hen fruit up so 
all could see it, and then placing it on the plate, to call 
for another. 

Again Budd went through his contortions, until a 
white circle was visible between his lips, and a second 
egg was removed by the conjurer. This was repeated 
until an even dozen lay upon the plate. 

“A pretty fair laying for a little pullet,” said Zig-Zag, 
viewing the plate of eggs with evident satisfaction. “You 
can return to your nest now, my little dear, while I make 
my repast. 

“As I am so very fond of eggs, and the intermission is 
almost over, I will not stop to cook these, but swallow 
them as they are, not even stopping to peel them. Here 


Ill 


“Eggs—Eggsactly!” 

goes for the first one,” and to the amazement of the on¬ 
lookers he tossed into his mouth and to all appearances 
swallowed an egg at one gulp. Then, a second, a third, 
and a fourth followed. 

“I am certain these are fresh-laid eggs,” he observed, 
as the tenth, eleventh, and finally the last one disappeared 
into his mouth. 

As Zig-Zag craned up his neck in the effort of swallow¬ 
ing the twelfth egg, he happened to glance toward the 
door at the farther end of the hall, when he for a moment 
lost his self-possession at seeing in the doorway the well- 
known figure of John Steerly! 


CHAPTER XII. 


A SURPRISE FOR ALL. 

If for a moment thrown off his guard by the unex¬ 
pected appearance of Steerly, who seemed to haunt him 
like an evil shadow, Zig-Zag quickly regained his self- 
control, to succeed his look of trepidation with a horrible 
grimace, which brought an outburst of laughter from 
the spectators. 

Steerly at that moment disappeared into the hallway, 
and the boy conjurer was certain he heard him descend¬ 
ing the stairs. 

“Oh, dear!” groaned the young conjurer, “I am afraid 
I was too greedy. I am sure the pullet that laid that 
last egg had never been properly vaccinated. I shall have 
to give up my lunch, when I supposed I had got it sure 
enough. Possession, they say, is nine points in a lawsuit, 
but it is just so many points against me. Here they 
come,” and then, to the blank amazement of the gaping 
lookers-on, he took from his mouth, one after another, 
the whole dozen of eggs! 


A Surprise for All. 113 

As he laid the last one upon the plate, he called to 
Budd, saying: 

“Take them away; the sight of them makes me sick. 
Why hadn’t you told me you had been living on tainted 
tongue and sour cheese ?” 

“B’gosh! I ain’t eat no heaves, nor I ain’t got the 
black heel, either,” replied Budd, to the amusement of the 
crowd, as he took the plate of eggs. 

“Hold on!” exclaimed Zig-Zag, as if suddenly pos¬ 
sessed with a new idea, “I want to see what sort of eggs 
those are. There is something wrong about them, I am 
sure.” 

With these words the young conjurer selected, ap¬ 
parently at random, one of the eggs, and, striking it on 
the edge of the plate in plain sight of the audience, broke 
the shell. 

“Ho-ho!” he exclaimed, “I don’t wonder my stomach 
revolted against such diet. Why, look here!” and Zig- 
Zag began to pull out—a barber’s pole! 

Up, up rose the familiar object, until the wondering 
people saw produced before their eyes this sign of the 
tonsorial artist, which stood at least a foot and a half 
in height. 


114 A Surprise for All. 

“I wonder if the little shaver is in here himself,” said 
the boy conjurer, looking into the shell. “I shouldn’t be 
surprised. See here,” when he began to pull out white 
ribbon, and he kept pulling and pulling, until he had a 
strip more than a dozen yards in length. 

‘That isn’t all,” said Zig-Zag, again peering into the 
shell. “I can see more finery, which looks like the yolk. 
No; this is ribbon, too, but yellow.” 

The length of ribbon this time more than equaled the 
other, and how such an incredible amount of things could 
be contained in the shell of an ordinary egg was beyond 
the comprehension of the most astute. 

Of course this had been a “prepared” egg, and the 
whole secret of the trick lies in the neatness and com¬ 
pactness with which the paper imitating a ribbon had 
been wound and packed in. The barber’s pole was also 
a roll of strong cartridge paper in two colors, so arranged 
that as it is drawn out it shall assume a spiral form, de¬ 
ceiving the very eyes of the closest observer. 

Acting as if it was quite heavy, Zig-Zag had dropped it 
into the receptacle behind the table, to await use at an¬ 
other time. 

“I am not going to destroy any more of those wonder- 


A Surprise for All. 115 

ful eggs, for I believe there is a fortune in them. Here, 
my friend, take them away, and don’t you break any of 
them.” 

His audience in good humor by this time, Zig-Zag went 
on with his pleasing exhibition of legerdemain, until the 
house went into raptures over his performances. Won¬ 
derful feat after feat was gone through, to the unbounded 
delight of all, and most especially Budd Newbegin, who 
did his part with surprising fidelity. 

Well satisfied with his own success, the boy conjurer 
at last closed the entertainment with a happy exhibition 
of his powers as a ventriloquist, when, amid the ringing 
applause, the curtain went down. 

The moment the strain of the trying affair was over, 
Zig-Zag’s mind reverted to Steerly, and he wondered 
what the other’s presence boded him there. No good, it 
was certain. 

“Please look after the apparatus, Budd, while I see the 
janitor. I will be back in a moment.” 

“I will, and I won’t go to sleep, neither. Say, Zig, ain’t 
we some punkins to-night. How ’em folks roared every 
time I came on the roosterum!” 

“Yes, but keep your eyes open for a minute.” 


n6 A Surprise for All. 

The people were fast leaving the hall, and, seeing the 
janitor, who had sold the tickets, at the farther side, Zig- 
Zag hurried that way, to be met by him halfway. 

“Allow me to congratulate you, Professor Wiswell, 
upon your success. I will confess that when I first saw 
how young you were I feared the folks would be disap¬ 
pointed, but you have more than kept your promise. 
Here are the door fees, and a snug sum, too. Yes, take 
it now. I never want other people’s money in my pockets 
longer than I can help.” 

“I might as well settle with you for the hall,” said Zig- 
Zag, as he accepted the money. “Let’s see, you were to 
charge me-” 

“There he is—arrest him!” broke in the voice of John 
Steerly, and he pushed himself excitedly through the 
crowd, half dragging by the arm another man. 

A smile of triumph showed itself on Steerly’s dark face, 
as he reached the side of Zig-Zag, while his companion, 
turning to the janitor, said: 

“Mr. Hill, I shall have to put an injunction on you 
against paying over to this self-styled Professor Wiswell 
any money.” 



A Surprise for All. 117 

“I have no money belonging to Professor Wiswell, 
Sheriff Locke,” replied the janitor. 

“He has!” interposed Steerly. “He has all of the 
money taken at the door. It must amount to seventy-five 
dollars.” 

“I have just paid to Mr. Wiswell all the money that 
has been taken to-night,” declared Mr. Hill. “As it is 
in his possession, you can do nothing with me.” 

The expression upon Steerly’s face was a sight to see. 

“Hand over that money!” he hissed, turning to Zig- 
Zag. 

“I refuse to do so, Mr. Steerly, and it is where you 
cannot touch it.” 

“I know what I can touch,” roared Steerly. “I have 
got out an attachment here on that apparatus of mine. 
You can hand over that money, or I will command the 
officer to do his duty. Which shall it be?” 

Zig-Zag was amazed by this audacious action on the 
part of his enemy. How he had come there he had not 
time to conjecture, but he only realized that this pro¬ 
ceeding might mean serious trouble to him. He had an 
idea that the officer could not touch the money in his 


n8 A Surprise for All. 

pocket, and determined to stand boldly up for his own 
rights, he said: 

“The money is mine, honestly earned, and I shall not 
give it up till I am obliged to do so. ,, 

“We will see about that later,” hissed Steerly. “Sheriff 
Locke, I command you to do your duty. Serve your at¬ 
tachment on everything you can find belonging to this 
concern. It is this way; follow me.” 

The officer willingly started after Steerly, who led the 
way to the stage, Zig-Zag following them with a heavy 
heart. 

“There it is!” cried Steerly, triumphantly, pulling aside 
the curtain and pointing to the inclosure behind the scenes. 

In his excitement Steerly had not stopped to look 
around, taking it for granted the object of their search 
was at hand. But the sheriff paused, and with a swift 
glance over the place, said: 

“Where is the property? There is nothing here, but 
that tow-headed scarecrow.” 

By this time Zig-Zag had noticed that no sign of the 
apparatus was to be seen. What Budd had done with it 
was beyond his conception, but he drew a breath of relief 
to find that it was out of sight. 


A Surprise for All. 119 

“It must have been here a minute ago!” exclaimed the 
amazed Steerly. “That yellow head has hidden it. Show 
us where it is, or I will have you arrested.” 

“ ’Rest away, you old duffer!” replied Budd, folding 
his arms and facing him defiantly. “I reckon I ain’t done 
nothing agin’ the government. If you want the ’couter- 
ments just find ’em.” 

Sheriff Locke then began a thorough search for the 
missing apparatus, to be obliged to give it up. 

Steerly was frantic, vowing that he would move the 
building, but he would have the apparatus; but his threats 
amounted to little, and he felt obliged to give up his quest. 

In the midst of this excitement, which was running 
high, a newcomer entered the hall, and catching sight of 
Zig-Zag, hurried to his side, saying: 

“Excuse me, Mr. Wiswell, but I think this box must be¬ 
long to you, and I thought it best to bring it to you at 
once. I imagine it contains valuable papers, but I found 
it in the hotel shed. I recognized it by the name on the 
cover.” 

The speaker might have rattled on with his talk very 
much longer, for all the interruption he would have re¬ 
ceived from the others. 


120 A Surprise for All. 

Zig-Zag was dumfounded at thus suddenly beholding 
the private strong box belonging to Professor Wiswell, 
and which he expected held the conjurer’s secret papers. 

Before he had recovered from his surprise, Steerly 
sprang foward to seize the box, crying: 

“It belongs to me, and was stolen from my trunk!” 

“Don’t let him have it!” cried Budd, springing forward. 
“It isn’t his, for it says ‘Watterson Wiswell’ right on the 
cover.” 


CHAPTER XIII. 


ARREST OF STEERLY. 

The unexpected appearance of Professor Wiswell’s little 
treasure chest in that place and under those peculiar cir¬ 
cumstances, was such a surprise to Zig-Zag that his usual 
presence of mind completely deserted him. 

Steerly’s rage was too great for him to act with any de¬ 
cision of purpose, while Sheriff Locke looked on without 
knowing what to do. 

Budd perhaps had the best conception of the situation, 
though he had no more purpose in his action than he had 
generally. 

‘Til take care of that box,” he said to him who had 
brought it there. “I know all about it.” 

“None but the owner can have it,” replied the man, 
whom we recognize as the hostler at the Narrows hotel. 

“No—no!” cried Steerly; “don’t let him have it. It is 
mine, and it was in my trunk. Whoever got it out 
stole it.” 


“I did!” retorted Budd. “The trunk fell and bu’sted 


122 Arrest of Steerly. 

open, when the box tumbled out on the ground, and I 
picked it up.” 

“It’s a lie!” exclaimed Steerly. “Sheriff Locke, arrest 
these fellows as thieves. I have had my team stolen from 
me, and I charge that low-lived scamp with doing it.” 

“I have no warrant to do that,” said the officer. “Be¬ 
fore we go any further, I want an explanation of this 
mixed-up affair. 

“Tom,” he said, turning to the hostler, “be kind enough 
to tell me what you know about the matter.” 

“I only know, Mr. Locke, that these young gentlemen 
put up a team at our stable this afternoon, which they said 
belonged to one John Steerly, and then came over to the 
hall to prepare for a show they were to give here this even¬ 
ing. A few minutes ago I found this box standing on the 
sill in the shed, and seeing it had the young conjurer’s 
name on it, I brought it over to him at once, for I thought 
it was valuable.” 

“How came it there?” demanded Steerly. “It was in 
my trunk.” 

“I do not know that, sir. I am simply telling what I 
know.” 

“I know!” cried the irrepressible Budd Newbegin. 


Arrest of Steerly. 123 

“Then you are the thief!” cried Steerly. “Arrest him, 
sheriff, or I will make a complaint against you for not 
doing your duty.” 

At this moment newcomers were seen to enter the hall. 
Foremost among whom Zig-Zag recognized Mr. Flanders, 
the sheriff of Glimmerton. 

Straight toward the little party marched the sheriff and 
his companion, and nodding to Sheriff Locke, he fixed his 
coal-black eyes upon Steerly, saying: 

“John Steerly, I believe.” 

“Yes, sir,” faltered the trembling wretch, anticipating 
that he was in trouble. 

“You are my prisoner, Mr. Steerly,” and before the 
amazed man could object, the handcuffs were snapped 
upon his wrists. 

The officer had spoken low, but every person in the hall 
heard the ominous words, and the sharp click of the hand¬ 
cuffs reached every ear. 

As soon as Steerly had recovered from his amazement, 
he uttered a torrent of language we do not care to repeat 
here. 

“It is an outrage!” he shouted, “and somebody will pay 
dearly for this. Grin, you contemptible thief!” he added, 


124 Arrest of Steerly. 

looking toward Zig-Zag, “your day of reckoning will 
soon come. You will soon be in my place. ,, 

Sheriff Flanders did not allow much of this talk, but he 
quickly marched his prisoner out of the hall. 

“You will be wanted over to Glimmerton to-morrow, at 
ten o’clock, as a witness, Mr. Wiswell,” said the officer. 
“That young man with you must come, too.” 

“Yes, sir,” replied our hero. “We will be there early 
in the morning.” 

“Very well.” 

“That beats me,” said Sheriff Locke, as he looked after 
the departing party, with a look of chagrin. “I didn’t like 
the appearance of that fellow from the first. Well, I sup¬ 
pose I can go home now. Good-evening, Professor Wis¬ 
well ; I trust you will harbor up no ill will against me.” 

“None whatever, sir; good-evening.” 

“Here is your box, professor,” said the hostler. 

Zig-Zag accepted the miniature chest with sincere 
thanks to the faithful Tom Wright. 

“I now propose we all go over to the hotel,” said the 
latter. 

“Before we go,” said Zig-Zag, “I am curious to know 


what has become of my apparatus.” 


Arrest of Steerly. 125 

“Oh, yes; I had forgotten that. Do you wish to take it 
over to the hotel ?” 

“I think it will be necessary to find it first; and as Mr. 
Locke gave that up as a bad job, it may bother us, unless 
my friend, Budd Newbegin, will enlighten me in regard 
to its whereabouts. ,, 

“Didn’t I fool the old duffer,” said Budd, with a broad 
grin on his face. “Say, Zig, I guess you begin to know 
me now/’ 

“Well, if you have concealed the things, please show us 
where they are now. I do not think the sheriff will trouble 
us again to-night.” 

“Follow me,” said Budd, showing by his manner that 
he felt himself of a little more account just then than any 
one else there, as he led the way behind the curtain. 

“The minute I see that Cowly, or Steerly, wotever he 
is, I knowed he was after ’em ’couterments, and I said to 
myself that he wouldn’t catch me napping this time. I 
had seen there was a trapdoor leading down into the room 
below this, and while you and he were perlavering, I 
chucked ’em all down there.” 

By this time, Budd had opened the door designated by 
him, and peering into the opening, Zig-Zag was pleased to 


126 Arrest of Steerly. 

see the apparatus safe and sound, where his faithful as¬ 
sistant had put the entire parts. 

“You did well, Budd, and you have my thanks for it. I 
did not dream of there being a door here; it fits so closely 
I think everything will be safe there to-night. Isn’t that 
so, Mr. Hill?” 

“I will be responsible for them, professor. I shall lock 
up the hall as soon as you go out.” 

“All right; we will leave everything there until morning. 
Come, Budd, we will go over to the hotel.” 

“Say, Zig,” said the latter, as they walked along side 
by side. “I guess you begin to think you can’t get along 
without me.” 

“Of course I couldn’t, Budd; so set your mind at rest 
on that score.” 

Though aware the disturbance in the hall and arrest of 
Steerly had caused considerable talk and made him an ob¬ 
ject of remark, Zig-Zag paid little heed to what was being 
said, seeking his room as soon as possible, Budd accom¬ 
panying him. 

“Now we will open the box,” said Budd, whose gaze 
had not left the object since it had been placed in his com¬ 
panion’s hands. 


Arrest of Steerly. 127 

‘‘No, Budd; we won’t open it to-night. I shall take it 
over to Glimmerton to-morrow and have it opened there 
by the proper authority.” 

“Sol Ginger! I guess we are big enough to bu’st open 
that little lock. I want to see what is in it.” 

“So do I, Budd, and for better reasons than you, but I 
do not think I had better open it. 

“By the way, Budd, didn’t you break into Steerly’s 
trunk to get this box ? I don’t ask this to inj ure you, and 
I want you to tell me just as it is.” 

“That would be stealing, wouldn’t it?” 

“I am afraid it would come under that name, though we 
might consider it a justifiable case.” 

“Well; b’gosh! you needn’t justify it, for I didn’t break 
into Cowly’s trunk. I had heard you say you wished you 
knew what there was in it that belonged to the old pro¬ 
fessor, and so I thought I’d keep my eye peeled for the 
chance. It came s’prising quick. I went to get the trunk 
out of the wagon, and it slipped and fell to the ground 
ker-chunk, when it bu’sted open! All I did was to take 
the box and hide it in the woodshed. How do you s’pose 
that hostler found it ?” 

Zig-Zag saw that it was a case, concerning which the 


128 Arrest of Steeriy. 

least said would be best, so he changed the subject, to in¬ 
quire about that other box, which Budd had spoken of as 
being carried across the pasture by Steeriy, when Budd 
drove off with his team. 

Getting nothing satisfactory in regard to the matter, 
Zig-Zag wisely concluded to let the whole matter rest until 
the next day, when no doubt the trial of Steeriy would set 
affairs right. 

He had yet to learn the deep shrewdness, as well as 
villainy, of the man against whom he was pitted. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


budd’s wild race for life. <■ 

Zig-Zag and Budd were astir early the next morning, 
and at sunrise they were ready to start for Glimmerton, 
having a team of the landlord of the Narrows House. 

All of the paraphernalia of the show had been intrusted 
to the care of Mr. Hill, but the little box of treasure- 
papers, recovered from Steerly, the boy conjurer kept 
with him to place in the possession of Mr. Benton. 

The ten miles’ ride to Glimmerton was uneventful, and 
when they reached the town, they found the selectman 
anxiously awaiting them. 

“I am glad to see you so promptly on hand,” said Mr. 
Benton. “You see I was about right when I said Sheriff 
Flanders never let his man get away from him. Jack is 
a regular sleuthhound, when he gets on the track of his 
prey.” 

“When does the trial come off ?” 

“At ten o’clock, before Squire Swayne. We have con¬ 
cluded to hold it in Sinclair Hall. Ha! what have you 
there ?” 


130 


Budd’s Wild Race for Life. 


“Something, if I am not mistaken, of great value to us. 
It is the box of papers I told you belonged to Professor 
Wiswell.” 

“The* dickens you say! Where did you run across 
that?” 

Then, in as few words as possible, Zig-Zag told what 
had happened at the Narrows, not omitting to tell of 
Steerly’s ruse to get possession of the apparatus. 

“Zounds, you say! We have got the steer on the hip! 
But what is that about that other box the rascal buried up 
here somewhere ?” 

“It is of that I wanted to speak more particularly. 
Budd says it was about two feet by four, as near as he 
could tell. He says that Steerly carried it as if it was 
quite heavy. What can have been in it ? and what was he 
carrying it off into the pasture in that way for ?” 

“We have got to find out those things. That box must 
be found—and before the trial. 

“Young man, can you show us where you saw Steerly 
making off with that box ?” 

“Hokey smut, mister! I guess you don’t know me.” 

“Well, we shall if you don’t guide us to the very place 
where you saw him last. It’s got to be done in the short- 


Budd’s Wild Race for 'Life. 


131 

est time possible, too, if we would get around to the trial, 
which we must. 

“I will speak to Preston for a team, and we will be off 
in a trice.” 

'‘Perhaps you had better take charge of this box,” said 
Zig-Zag. 

“Oh, yes; I will put that where it will be safe. Then, 
as soon as I get my appointment, I will notify you, when 
we will open it.” 

“Is it best to wait so long?” asked Zig-Zag, who, if the 
truth be told, was exceedingly anxious to see what there 
was within. 

“Most assuredly; I do not feel that I have the power to 
do it now. But I will guard it faithfully.” 

Without further delay Zig-Zag drove his team up to 
the Glenwood House, and five minutes later Mr. Preston 
had got a team in readiness for them to start on their 
search. 

“Give this note to the sheriff, if he comes before we get 
back,” said Mr. Benton, “when he will understand why we 
are not here, and feel no uneasiness. We will get around 
in season.” 

“Now, Budd,” said Zig-Zag, as soon as they had got 


Budd’s Wild Race for Life. 


132 

fairly started, “if you think you can’t follow the way taken 
by Steerly, we had better go as directly as possible to the 
place where I met you, and from that point you will have 
no trouble to find the very tree where he hitched his 
horse.” 

“Don’t you worry ’bout me. I guess I know enough 
’bout g’ography to foller that air Cowly, or Steerly, right 
to the spot where he got out of the waggin.” 

“All right, Budd, only you must remember we have got 
very limited time in which to get back.” 

Mr. Benton was driving, under che direction of Budd 
Newbegin, and thus they must have gone five miles with¬ 
out the latter showing by any sign that he had recognized 
the way. 

Even Zig-Zag was losing faith in his ability to find the 
place, and Mr. Benton proposed that they give it up until 
another time, when Budd suddenly exclaimed, joyously: 

“There ’tis! there’s the tree where Cowly hitched his 
horse. I guess when I know a thing I know it. Pull up, 
Bent!” 

The others needed no second bidding to obey this long- 
looked-for announcement. 

The tree pointed out by Budd was a small elm stand- 


BudcTs Wild Race for Life. 


133 

ing a few feet outside of the wheel rut. The last house 
they had passed was a mile back, and as far as they could 
see, there was no sign of a habitation in the distance ahead. 

Budd had said the place was in the midst of a lonely 
region, and glad to have reached so near the end of their 
trip, Mr. Benton and Zig-Zag sprang out of the wagon 
without delay. 

“I don't see any signs of a team having been here, Mr. 
Newbegin,” said the selectman who was preparing to 
hitch the horse to the elm. “There are no tracks of a 
horse here.” 

“Then he took his tracks with him when I drove him 
off, for this is the place, and right ’tween ’em bushes is 
where I see the old duffer carrying off the box.” 

“Lead the way, then, as far as you saw Steerly go.” 

The self-conscious Budd immediately leaped to the 
ground, saying: 

“Foller me.” 

Their course lay across a tract of wild land, and after 
going a short distance, they reached a considerable ridge, 
beyond which they soon lost sight of the road. After this 
Budd was not expected to be able to guide them in their 
search, which continued for half an hour without success. 


134 Budd’s Wild Race for Life. 

“We must spread out more,” said Mr. Benton. “We 
will each of us make a wider detour than we have done, 
and if still unsuccessful, will meet at the road where we 
left the team, to hasten back to the village as fast as pos¬ 
sible.” 

With this understanding, they separated, Budd going 
to the north or left hand. Keeping a sharper lookout for 
some indication of Steerly’s hiding place than of the direc¬ 
tion he was taking, the latter at last began to think it was 
time to find his way back to the horse and wagon, when 
he found that he was lost! 

Shouting to his companions, Budd at first thought noth¬ 
ing serious of his situation; but as he continued on without 
getting any reply from Mr. Benton or Zig-Zag, and ap¬ 
parently going deeper and deeper into the fastness of the 
country, he became excited, and rushed hither and thither, 
in a way that must have been amusing to a disinterested 
witness. In one of these wild dashes, however, he sud¬ 
denly found himself by the highway, when he flung up his 
cap for joy. 

All he had got to do now was to follow along the road 
until he came to the team, and so, choosing what he con- 


Budd’s Wild R$ce for Life. 


I 3S 

sidered the proper direction, he hurried forward at his 
peculiar, loping gait. 

Pretty soon Budd came to a wide stretch of plains land, 
when he ran along the level road at increased speed, until 
suddenly a loud, resonant sound reached his ears, causing 
him to look back with a gaze of fright. 

As he glanced backward, a second roar startled him 
with its awful intonation, and as his gaze ran back to a 
turn in the road, he was terrified to see a huge black and 
white quadruped in mad pursuit! 

Budd was not a coward by any means, and a braver boy 
than he might well have felt a thrill of horror at sight of a 
wild bull rushing furiously upon his heels. 

Budd’s only chance of escape was by flight, and if ever 
he flew over the ground, it was on that day. His hat soon 
came off, and his yellow hair stood out behind his big 
head in worse shape than it did at the time he was escap¬ 
ing from Steerly with the other’s team. 

The bull’s fierce bellowing rang almost continually in 
his ears, and, glancing ever and anon over his shoulder, he 
could see the infuriated creature still in mad pursuit, com¬ 
ing nearer and nearer every moment! 

Louder and louder grew the hoof strokes of the pur- 


136 Budd’s Wild Race for Life. 

suing brute, while Budd felt his breath come quicker and 
weaker, as he sped along over the plain. 

He looked for a tree to climb, but on that barren land 
there was not even a shrub to afford him temporary pro¬ 
tection, to say nothing of a tree large enough to enable 
him to get beyond the enemy’s reach. 

Partly to allow greater freedom of his movements, and 
half in hope that it might attract the bull’s attention, he 
threw off his coat as he ran, to send it flying by the road¬ 
side. 

This relieved him somewhat, so he ran with renewed 
agility for a short distance, but he soon felt that he could 
go little further. 

Then, glancing wildly back, he saw that his pursuer 
was almost beside him, and then his foot tripped, and he 
fell headlong in the sand ! 

With a fiercer roar than any yet ringing in his ears, 
poor Budd closed his eyes, as he felt, forever! 


CHAPTER XV. 


A STARTLING SITUATION. 

Meanwhile Zig-Zag and Mr. Benton had pursued a 
fruitless search, to eventually return to their starting point. 

“I wonder where Budd is,” said Zig-Zag, as he looked 
up and down the road without seeing anything of him. 

“Perhaps we had better drive on toward Norton a short 
distance,” replied Mr. Benton, “as he would be likely to 
come out above us, and we shall soon meet him. By the 
way, I don’t believe that fellow has any more idea where 
he saw Steerly than this horse has. It’s too bad, though, 
that we can’t find what he did that day.” 

“We shall doubtless find the secret out some time, if we 
don’t to-day.” 

Discussing the affair as they rode on, the two had rid¬ 
den half a mile or more without seeing anything of their 
companion. 

“He can’t have gone as far as this,” said Mr. Benton, 
“and-” 

“Hark! I thought I heard him calling.” 

“I can hear a bull roaring; that is all.” 



1 $& A Startling Situation. 

“I hear him—he is calling for help! Whip up the 
horse, Mr. Benton. He is in trouble.” 

They had reached the border of the plain by this time, 
and urging the horse into a more rapid gait, they soon 
came in sight of the unlucky Budd. 

He still lay upon the ground, face downward, and at 
first they thought he was dead. 

The bull stood a short distance off, just over a barbed 
wire fence, pawing the mellow earth up into a huge heap, 
while he bellowed and roared with fury enough for half 
a dozen. As Zig-Zag’s gaze ran over the scene he was 
puzzled to know what Budd’s action meant, and he 
shouted to the latter: 

“Hello, Budd; what is the trouble?” 

At the approach of the team the bull suddenly stopped 
his uproar, and hearing the voice of his friend, Budd 
sprang to his feet, staring wildly around him. 

“What has happened, Budd ? Are you hurt ?” 

“The bull! have you killed him?” asked the confused 
Budd. “He chased me nearly four miles, and I just saved 
my life by dropping flat upon the ground and keeping 
still as if I was dead. Oh! he ain’t dead yet!” added the 


A Startling Situation. 139 

terrified youth, as the furious animal at that moment re¬ 
newed his bellowing. 

“He can’t hurt you, Budd; don’t you see there is a fence 
between you and-” 

“How long has that been there?” gasped Budd, as a 
startling discovery forced itself upon his bewildered mind. 

His companions, unable to restrain their feelings longer, 
burst into a hearty laughter. 

The truth was, Budd had been fleeing for dear life from 
a pursuer which could not have reached him if he would, 
for the very simple reason that a four foot barbed wire 
fence made it well-nigh impossible. In Budd’s behalf, we 
wish to explain that when he had come out into the road 
from the wild land, there had been no fence, but that the 
plain had been fenced in as a pasture. In his excitement, 
the bull being near to the barrier, and the bend in the road 
tending to confuse him, it was little wonder the fugitive 
had not realized the true situation. We are inclined to 
think some of those who believe they are smarter than 
Budd Newbegin, might have made as sad a mistake under 
similar circumstances. 

“Come, Budd,” said Zig-Zag, directly, “jump into the 



140 A Startling Situation. 

wagon. We must get back to Glimmerton as soon as 
possible. It is ten o’clock now.” 

As limp as a rag, Budd climbed into the vehicle with¬ 
out speaking. 

“Where is your coat?” asked Mr. Benton. “Oh, I see 
it; Mr. Wiswell will get it for you.” 

When the three got back to Glimmerton, they found the 
court already in session, and their appearance in the hall 
brought an audible murmur of relief. 

The prisoner looked as defiant as ever, and when called 
upon to answer the charge, responded “not guilty,” in a 
tone free from a tremor. 

Zig-Zag was the first person called to deliver his testi¬ 
mony, and he told his story in a clear, straightforward 
manner which carried conviction to nearly all. Particu¬ 
larly that part when he told of his discovery of the pieces 
of the missing trunk. Then, again, Steerly’s conduct at 
Norton was against him. 

Budd Newbegin’s evidence was next called for, but Zig- 
Zag’s hopes fell when Steerly, who acted as his own law¬ 
yer, cross-questioned the unsophisticated youth. The wit¬ 
ness’ late adventure no doubt had very much unsettled his 


A Startling Situation. 141 

mind, for he crossed himself in the most ridiculous 
manner. 

“You say, young man, I carried those things out of that 
room while you were in it?” 

“Yes, sir; while I was asleep.” 

“Asleep, and yet you saw me ?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Will you be kind enough to explain what means you 
have of seeing when you are asleep ?” 

Budd saw that he had made a mistake, and, in trying to 
rectify it, he made a bad matter worse. 

“You woke up, came downstairs without any one seeing 
you, and finding those things loaded into a wagon, you 
climbed up into one of the boxes and went asleep again? 
Remember, your honor, this was all done in broad day¬ 
light.” 

“I—I ain’t sure I went to sleep very much.” 

“Didn’t go to sleep very much ! Pray what sort of logic 
do you call that? Perhaps by that you mean that your 
hands were asleep, or your feet, but your eyes—those 
bright eyes of yours—were wide awake. You have been 
guessing, or dreaming so far. Now, please tell us one 
thing—one little fact—that you know.” 


142 A Startling Situation. 

By this time Budd was aroused, and his usually listless 
blue eyes flashed with the consuming fire of his anger. 
Though he spoke in a low tone, such a stillness had fallen 
upon the scene, every person in the hall heard his ominous 
words: 

“I know, Jack Cowly, when that box is found you will 
hang for it!” 

For the first time Steerly lost his presence of mind, be¬ 
sides turning deadly pale in the face. 

Quickly regaining his self-possession, he demanded, 
hoarsely: 

“Yellow cur! who do you mean by ‘Jack Cowly?’ ” 

“You!” shrieked Budd. 

“Order!” commanded the judge. 

“Why do you call me by that contemptible name?” 

“ ’Cos you put me in mind of dad’s old brindle cow, 
which is always tearing down the neighbor’s fence and 
stealing everything she can get her nose on. When dad 
got done fooling with her, we will-” 

The storm of laughter, which filled the hall, drowned 
the rest of the witness’ reply. 

“Take the fool away!” cried Steerly. “I want no more 


to do with him.” 


A Startling Situation. 143 

Mr. Benton was next called, and after him Mr. Preston. 

Then followed the prisoner’s defense, which showed a 
skillful battling of the strong points against him with an 
ability a criminal lawyer might have envied. 

The result was foreseen by Mr. Benton, and as much as 
he regretted it, they had failed to make out a case against 
Steerly, so that he came out of the court a free man. 

He could not conceal his feelings of triumph, and as he 
passed near to Zig-Zag, he hissed in his ear: 

“ ‘He laughs best who laughs last!’ You will hear from 
me in a way you will not forget.” 

“It is too bad,” said the selectman, “but we didn’t pre¬ 
pare ourselves as we ought. I do not apprehend, Master 
Wiswell, he will trouble you any further. We will keep 
our eyes open here, and you do the same. I will let you 
know the moment I get my appointment, when we will see 
what that box contains. I suppose you feel as if you must 
be off.” 

As Zig-Zag was booked for an entertainment at East 
Norton that evening, he knew every moment of time was 
valuable to him, so with the good wishes of his friends at 
Glimmerton ringing in his ears, he started for Norton 
Narrows at once, accompanied by Budd. 


144 A Startling Situation. 

Zig-Zag’s success at East Norton was very flattering, 
and he felt that henceforth he would get along finely. 

The following evening he displayed at a place called 
Bymtown, and the moment the curtain was run up, he 
realized that he had a hard crowd to face. Resolved to do 
his best, however, he opened the entertainment with one 
of his most taking performances. 

His efforts were received with an ominous restlessness, 
which he anticipated was the forerunner of trouble. 

He had barely finished the trick, which brought forth a 
faint applause, when the janitor approached him with 
great trepidation. 

“I am sorry for you, young man, but the Old Nick is 
going to be to pay here directly. Somebody has set up a 
party of hoodlums to rotten egg you and drive you out 
of the hall.” 

Though taken by surprise, Zig-Zag said, in his quiet 
way: 

“I thank you, Mr. Johnson, but I hardly think it can be 
as bad as you say. I trust I shall be able to get through 
without any open disturbance.” 

“You can’t! They’re an ugly set from the Leathers’ 
district, and they’ve come here to raise Cain. The most 


A Startling Situation. 145 

of them are on the front seat, and you can see they are a 
tough set. Better close the meeting with some excuse, and 
escape by that back end window while you can.” 

“That would precipitate a general row at once. No, 
Mr. Johnson, I will remain, let the consequence be what 
it may. I think I can handle them.” 

“You can’t!” repeated the janitor. “My gracious! they 
are going to open fire now!” 

Without replying, the boy conjurer returned swiftly to 
the center of the stage, to face defiantly the uprising mob. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


CAPTURING A CROWD. 

Quick as a flash the boy conjurer selected from the 
crowd in front of him the men who were likely to bring 
him trouble. They were moving uneasily on their seats, 
and turning alternately from him to one of their ilk who 
was no doubt their leader, sitting on the right-hand side 
of the house. 

Evidently many of those back of this dozen had an ink¬ 
ling of what was coming, for they were more interested in 
watching them than they were in listening to him. 

Zig-Zag realized that it was a desperate situation, and 
that he must resort to desperate measures, if he would 
come out victorious. 

The first thing for him to do was to throw off what¬ 
ever suspicion they might feel over the action of the 
janitor in coming to him as he had. Accordingly he said, 
in a tone of deep feeling: 

“The gentleman who has just spoken to me has brought 
me bad news. All I have left of this world’s goods are the 
clothes on my back and the little money in my pockets. If 


Capturing a Crowd. 147 

I have trusted others so well that they have brought this 
disaster upon me, I am not going to murmur. 

“No, my friends,” fixing his gaze closely upon those in 
the front seats, “I am fortunate enough to be the possessor 
of a little secret worth more to me than the possession of 
a few paltry dollars. Ladies and gentlemen, I am going 
to show you, before I continue with the little feats of 
magic which I came here to give you, one worth more 
than all the others, for there are showers of money in it. 
Now watch me closely. 

“It is not generally known that there is plenty of money 
flying around in the air, but I am going to prove such a 
state of things to you; and, what is more, I am not going 
to hoard it all for myself, but allow some of you gentle¬ 
men a chance with me.” 

Zig-Zag had always noticed that of all the marvels of 
the magician not one was so sure to catch the attention of 
the spectators as the making of money at will. He had 
seen Professor Wiswell go through a long catalogue of 
wonderful feats of legerdemain, such as cooking soup in 
fine hats, taking eggs and live chickens even from ladies’ 
handkerchiefs, conjuring snakes from bottles, and even 
thrusting a brad awl through the rather prominent pro- 


148 Capturing a Crowd. 

boscis of some rural swain without eliciting a murmur of 
applause from the spellbound audience, to raise a howl of 
delight when he tricked them with the shower of money. 

“The first thing I need is a good stout hat from some 
of the gentlemen. I used to take my own, but as I wear 
such a small size it don’t hold enough, for I believe in get¬ 
ting all you can while you are about it. This gentleman to 
my right has a good sized head; perhaps he will loan me 
his hat for a few moments.” 

“The boy conjurer had purposely selected him whom 
he felt confident was the leader of the would-be rioters, as 
this would not only bring him into intercourse with the 
other, but better enable him to keep his gaze fixed upon 
the man. 

Showing by his looks that his cupidity had been 
aroused, the person in question willingly offered his hat. 

“Thank you, my friend,” said the young magician, as he 
took the hat, “it is a good one, and if I don’t return it to 
you with a silver lining you may—hi! there goes a silver 
dollar now, or I’m blind as a bat. It is right on hand to¬ 
night. Didn’t see it? It will become plainer as I pro¬ 
ceed. Ha! there is a penny now. See ? It is going to fall 


Capturing a Crowd. 149 

right on the stage. There it is!” and surely enough the 
coin appeared in sight of all. 

“I never bother with the cents; I never pick up anything 
smaller than half-dollars. Here, Mr. Newbegin, you can 
have that if you want it. A little sense might do you good. 

“Yes,” continued the young wizard, as soon as the ap¬ 
plause had died away so he could make himself heard; 
“there are all kinds of money floating about us to-night, 
but as gold is so much harder to catch, I am not going to 
try and catch anything but silver. Ah! here comes a 
piece now. Hi! it came near escaping me, but I got it,” 
and after clutching wildly in the air for a moment, Zig- 
Zag opened his right hand to display a silver half-dollar. 

“I was afraid it was a quarter, but it is all right; and 
here goes the first deposit into our bank,” tossing the coin 
into the borrowed hat. 

By this time the boy conjurer had wrought himself 
into an excited state, judging by his actions, and he began 
to rush about on the stage catching at what seemed imag¬ 
inary objects in the air; but more real than it seemed pos¬ 
sible, for in a moment his exultant cries told that he had 
been again successful, 


150 Capturing a Crowd. 

“Here is another!” he cried, displaying a second half- 
dollar and dropping it into the hat. 

“Ha—ha! ain’t this exhilarating! See them all about 
me. Now I have caught him,” showing a third coin. 
“At this rate I will soon fill the hat. Here, Mr. New- 
begin, hold this hat for me. I can’t stop to run across the 
stage. Pass it around lively here! Isn’t this a collection 
which would make any church happy?” 

Rattling on in this way, while he danced about like a 
Pawnee Indian in a scalp dance, every now and then 
snatching a gleaming coin from the air and flinging it 
into the hat, the boy conjurer must have shown nearly 
twenty pieces, when he exclaimed: 

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, for forgetting you 
in my excitement of good luck. This is too one-sided, 
and I am not selfish enough to wish to keep all this 
bounty of fortune to myself. I am going to let some of 
you into this grand collection. Let me see, who shall it 
be? I want three or four of the most trustworthy men 
here.” 

As he spoke, Zig-Zag ran his gaze over the crowd, until 
it rested upon the row in the front seat, when, as if satis¬ 
fied with his choice, he said: 


Capturing a Crowd. 151 

“I am sure I can trust you, and I know your words will 
not be doubted. Please step forward, my friend, if you 
wish to join in this harvest,” addressing him whom he 
knew well enough was the ringleader of the suspicious 
gang. 

“This is warm work,” declared the conjurer, pulling 
off his coat, “and I know the ladies will excuse us, if we 
remove our coats. Yes, you had better take off yours, 
and lay it right here in plain sight. Rather I will put it 
on the table so all can see it. In this way every one can 
see that we are really doing what we pretend.” 

Nothing loth, the man obeyed, and Zig-Zag called upon 
three of his companions with as good effect. As a cover, 
he called upon one whom he felt certain was an outsider. 

“Please step into the side aisle where I saw the coins 
flying thick and fast. Move as rapidly as possible, for 
every moment in times like this is precious. These 
money falls are like April showers. Ha! there is one 
hanging to that gentleman’s beard. I know he will ex¬ 
cuse me for the liberty I take,” and to the amazement of 
the on-lookers they saw him take a shining half-dollar 
from the whiskers of a man near to him. 

“It isn’t every person who can boast of a mint in his 


152 Capturing a Crowd. 

beard. Let me have that hat, Mr. Newbegin; I want to 
see how we are getting along. Ah! finely,” picking up a 
handful of coins and letting them fall back into the re¬ 
ceptacle. 

By this time the five men had taken up their positions 
in the aisle as directed, and, glancing toward them he 
cried: 

“Keep your eyes open now! I can see them all about 
you! Work if you love money! Man alive! where are 
your eyes? There’s a brand new half in your right ear. 
Mine, by the right of discovery, if you please,” and, dart¬ 
ing to the side of the surprised man, he caught the glisten¬ 
ing coin just as it was falling to the floor. 

“No deception about that!” cried the boy magician. 

Then, rushing to another person, he snatched a half 
from off his bald head, while the spectators shouted with 
delight. 

By this time the wizard money-maker had created an 
excitement which can only be imagined. Unnoticed by 
any one, he replaced his coat while he rushed to and fro, 
garnering the bright coins from every quarter, all the 
time shouting to the men to exert themselves while the 
harvest was ripe. 


Capturing a Crowd. 153 

He picked the silver pieces from men’s beards, from la¬ 
dies’ muffs, and off of their bonnets, from out of the boys’ 
ears and noses, and from out of the pockets of those on 
the front seat; in fact, from almost every conceivable 
place; the clinking of the coins as they dropped into the 
hat making merry music for the exciting scene, until at 
last the boy conjurer sprang back upon the platform, 
saying: 

“I am no miser! I must have enough to pay my bills 
in town, so I will take up no more of your time, ladies 
and gentlemen. 

“Mr. Newbegin, please hand those men their coats.” 

Then the greatest sight of all was witnessed, when 
Budd lifted up the coats, and it was seen that the table 
was literally covered with eggs. 

“B’gosh!” cried the amazed Budd, “the old hen has 


laid herself dry.” 


CHAPTER XVII. 


DISAPPEARANCE OF BUDD. 

“Ho-ho!” laughed Ziz-Zag, with feigned glee, it has 
been a shower of eggs as well as money. I will acknowl¬ 
edge that is more than I expected. But eggs are as good 
as money. Why, every fresh egg there is worth three 
cents at the store here in town, and as I live, there are 
more than three dozen of them. 

“Please remove them, Mr. Newbegin, and be careful 
and not break one of them, for fresh eggs are worth 
three cents apiece. 

“I will hand the gentlemen their coats. Many-” 

It seemed five minutes before Zig-Zag could make him¬ 
self heard for the tumult of applause which filled that 
house. The audience had been able to stand no more, 
and even the ladies forgot their dignity and lent their 
voices to the wild huzzas of the men. The boy conjurer 
had captured the crowd; even the duped party upon the 
front seat shouted with the rest. 

“Now, I will count up my money,” said Zig-Zag, as 



Disappearance of Budd. 155 

soon as the applause had ended. “I will turn it out upon 
the table here, so you can all see if I count it right.” 

He had barely finished speaking when he turned the 
hat bottom up on the table, a look of surprise coming 
over his countenance as the expected clinking of the fall¬ 
ing coins failed to be heard. Then, lifting the hat, no 
sign of the money was to be seen. 

“What does that mean?” gasped the startled conjurer. 
“Where is my money?” looking wildly over the table and 
upon the floor as he spoke. 

Then he began to examine the hat, to exclaim: 

“I see into the mystery. There is a hole in the crown 
of the hat, and my money is all lost,” at the same time 
pushing his right hand inside, to thrust his forefinger 
through the top until the member was seen on the out¬ 
side, nearly its entire length, by the audience. 

“That is just my luck,” moaned the disappointed con¬ 
jurer; “but never mind. It was all owing to my greedi¬ 
ness in wanting to get so much. As I told you, I always 
come out so. Well, I have got the eggs left, anyway.” 

“Here, my friend, is your hat. I intended to divide 
with you the spoils; but you see how it is. I-” 



156 Disappearance of Budd. 

“By Jove! you will pay for the damage to that hat, 
young man!” cried the excited owner. 

‘‘Certainly,” replied Zig-Zag, smiling. “Come to look 
at it more carefully, I cannot see that it is injured. How¬ 
ever, if you find I have done any harm to it I will pay 
you ten dollars in gold.” 

This time the man took his hat to examine it closely. 

“Is it injured in the least?” 

“No, sir.” 

“No hole in the crown?” 

“No, sir. How in the world did you do that, young¬ 
ster?” 

Another burst of applause greeted this exclamation, 
and as soon as he could get the attention of the crowd 
again the boy conjurer started upon a new tack. There 
was no lack of interest, even the party which had come 
purposely to make him trouble becoming his most atten¬ 
tive spectators, until the curtain fell on the last act. 

Zig-Zag had felt that it was possible he might meet 
with trouble after^the closing of the entertainment, but 
to his extreme pleasure the entire crowd went out of the 
hall as peacefully as he could have asked. 


Disappearance of Budd. 157 

At the first opportunity the janitor came to him with 
his congratulations. 

“I don’t see how you did it,” he said; “but you fairly 
bewitched them. Do you intend to show again in town ?” 

“I am billed for Bymtown Hollow, which I judge is not 
far from here.” 

“Not far enough. Young man, I know this place better 
than you do, and I want to warn you to look out. Cancel 
your engagement at the Hollow, and get out of town as 
soon as you can. These Leatherses are very devils when 
they get down on a feller, and I’ve heard enough to know 
they mean mischief.” 

“What can they have against me? I was never within 
a hundred miles of this place before.” 

“There has been a stranger here to-day, at least a 
friend of mine saw a newcomer down at old Haskell’s, 
and this Nick Haskell is the ringleader of fche Leathers 
tribe.” 

In a moment Zig-Zag thought of Steerly, and asked 
the other for a description of this stranger. 

As the janitor had not seen the unknown man, his 
description did not enable Zig-Zag to recognize Steerly 
from it. 


158 Disappearance of Budd. 

By this time Zig-Zag, assisted by Budd, had arranged 
the apparatus ready for removal, and they started at once 
for the hotel. 

This building stood back from the main street, at the 
head of a short lane. As they approached the house, the 
boy conjurer saw a man sitting by one of the windows, 
whom he instantly recognized as Steerly. 

Stopping to get a closer look at the person, he was not 
quite so sure of his identity. If it was Steerly he had 
trimmed his whiskers very much, and had put on a pair 
of glasses. 

In the midst of his closer inspection the curtain was 
drawn down so the other was lost to his gaze. 

“Did you see him, Budd?” 

“Nope. Say, every one of ’em eggs were rotten, so 
you didn’t get so much out of ’em as you expected. 

“I knew it. But what worries me is whether that 
Steerly has followed us here or not. I am afraid our 
trouble with him is not over.” 

“His won’t be, if he gets in my way ag’in. I’ll crack 
every bone in his head.” 

Determined to know, if possible, whether his enemy 
was stopping beneath the same roof with him or not, Zig- 


Disappearance of Budd. 159 

Zag examined the hotel register without finding the 
other’s name there. He then asked the landlord if a 
stranger was stopping there that night, to receive a nega¬ 
tive reply. 

If Steerly stayed in the house that night, he carefully 
kept out of sight the next morning, for Zig-Zag saw 
nothing of him, so he was fain to believe he had been 
mistaken the evening before in thinking he was there. 

A cold, drizzling rain had set in during the night, so 
the day was an uncomfortable one in which to be out. 

As it was scarcely two and a half miles to Bymtown 
Hollow, our traveling heroes were not obliged to be 
abroad very much. 

The prospect at the Hollow was anything but encour- 
aging. The hall was a small affair in an old, dilapidated 
building, standing at the junction of two roads, but with¬ 
out a dwelling house in sight. In fact, Zig-Zag was 
obliged to engage lodgings at a house nearly half a mile 
from the hall. 

“We shan’t make our fortunes to-night, Budd,” he 
said. “But as long as the bills are out we can’t do any 
better than to carry out our part of the programme.” 

While Zig-Zag had not forgotten the warning of the 


160 Disappearance of Budd. 

janitor at Bymtown Center, he had seen nothing during 
the day to justify the other’s fears, for everywhere he 
had been he had been treated civilly and even respectfully. 

About dark the whole community was thrown into a 
state of high excitement by the news of the suicide of 
Nicholas Haskell, Old Nick, as he had been familiarly 
called, and the very worst of the leading spirits of the 
Leathers of Leathersville. 

Why the old man had resorted to thus end his life no 
one seemed to know or care. He had lived alone in an 
old house standing upon the outskirts of the unpromising 
hamlet making up the notorious Leathersville. 

“Old Nick’s folly may turn to our good,” said the boy 
conjurer to his companion, “as it will be likely to keep 
away from us to-night those who were inclined to make 
us trouble. 

“By the way, perhaps you had better go ahead to the 
hall so you can keep an eye over our things until I can 
come. I will be along in course of half an hour. Re¬ 
member and keep your eyes open.” 

“B’gosh! I should think you would get to know me, 
Zig, after a while.” 

Soon after the departure of Budd, the young conjurer 


Disappearance of Bndd. 161 

started for the hall, and as early as he was—it could not 
have been more than six o’clock—the crowd had begun to 
gather. 

It was not raining as much as it had during the day, but 
the night was pitchy dark. 

“The people seem to be right on hand,” said Zig-Zag, 
meeting the janitor at the door. 

“I reckon the Holler folks don’t generally get left.” 

“But the hall was not advertised to be open before 
seven. The entertainment does not begin until half-past.” 

“Mebbe you’d keep the folks who pays you their money 
out in the rain on sich a night as this ?” 

“Oh, no; I didn’t mean that! Where is my friend, 
Mr. Newbegin?” 


He ain’t been here.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


A HARD CROWD. 

“Budd hasn’t been here!” exclaimed Zig-Zag, with 
surprise, as he looked the hall over without seeing his as¬ 
sistant. 

“That’s what I am telling you,” retorted the janitor. 
“Mebbe he’s gone a-fishin’.” 

Zig-Zag made no reply to this, but hastened at once to 
the rear of the hall, to find everything behind the curtain 
just as he had left them. 

There was no sign that Budd had been in the hall. 
What did his absence mean ? 

About a dozen men had congregated in the hall, and 
having bunched themselves around the stove, were pass¬ 
ing the time in story-telling, and an occasional coarse jest. 

They were forbidding in appearance, and the boy con¬ 
jurer felt that their early presence boded him no good. 
But he gave them little thought in his anxiety for the 
missing Budd. 

Plad the other fallen into trouble, or gone off on some 
wild fancy of his own? Even had he known in which 


A Hard Crowd. 163 

direction to look for his companion, Zig-Zag did not think 
it prudent to leave the stage property long enough to go 
in search of him. 

Precisely at half-past six the party around the stove, 
whose number had been increased by four newcomers, 
marched down one of the aisles and seated themselves 
directly in front of the stage, each person showing by his 
action that he was ready and anxious for the performance 
to begin. 

Pretending to busy himself about some preliminary ar¬ 
rangements, Zig-Zag watched and waited, his anxiety in¬ 
creasing as the minutes sped by without bringing any 
tidings of Budd. 

In the midst of his unpleasant reflections, one of the 
men arose to his feet, saying: 

“Look here, young man! ain’t it ’bout time you started 
this show? We are waitin’ for you.” 

“In a few minutes, sir. It was not billed to open until 

l 

half-past seven, and it lacks nearly an hour of that time 
now. However, as soon as my assistant comes, I will 
show you a few little tricks I have seen done, to pass 
away the time until the people all get here.” 

“Reckon we’s all the people you’ll see to-night, young- 


164 A Hard Crowd. 

ster. And we ain’t going to wait a big spell for the show 
to start, ’cos if it don’t we’ll start it ourselves.” 

“I may have something to say about that, gentlemen,” 
said Zig-Zag in his quiet, cool way. “If I am but a boy 
in years, I want you all to remember that I have seen 
sights of which you have never dreamed. As young as I 
am, I have been in every part of the world, and in the 
East, where I traveled with the king of the wizards, Pro¬ 
fessor Wiswell, I have stood beside the most wonderful 
fakirs of that strange land, and seen better men than you 
turned to stone. I have seen these wonderful savants, 
under the walls of the Tower of Silence, perform such 
miracles as would blanch your cheeks and make your 
blood run cold. See! I hold here what is really but a bit 
of wood, curiously wrought by the cunning hand of an 
Oriental magician, but a very common wood, just the 
same, in that land. Now watch me closely, and see that 
I do not deceive you, while before your very eyes I will 
transform this stick into a winged serpent, which shall 
wriggle its slimy form across the stage, or fly into your 
faces as I may elect.” 

This tragic speech was not without its effect, and in a 
moment the boy conjurer had the closest attention of his 


A Hard Crowd. 165 

audience, until he had astonished them with his mar¬ 
velous feats. 

No others came, but, resolved to treat this handful the 
same as he would had there been a houseful, Ziz-Zag went 
through such feats as he could without the assistance of 
a companion, every one of which elicited vociferous ap¬ 
plause. 

Budd’s continued non-appearance worried Zig-Zag 
more than he cared to show, and, when in the midst of 
one of his most perplexing displays of legerdemain, he 
came near bungling in his work, as he saw a stranger 
enter the hall, to march straight up to the stage, showing 
by his action that he had something of importance to say. 

Motioning him to wait a moment, the conjurer con¬ 
cluded the scene as quickly as possible, and then, with a 
few words of thanks to the audience, drew the curtain. 

“This is Mr. Wiswell, I think,” said the man, who was 
fairly well dressed and appeared like an honest man. 
“Here is a line from your friend, which will explain 
itself.” 

Taking the proffered note, Zig-Zag read in Budd’s 
scrawling hand the following message: 

“Dear Sir ; I am in a peck of trubble and I want you 


166 


A Hard Crowd. 


to come and see me hoppin’ quick. Can’t write enny mor 
but the chap who brings this will tell you oil erbout it. 
Yurs, Budd Newbegin.” 

“What does this mean?” demanded Zig-Zag, as he fin¬ 
ished the note. 

“I can’t give you a very full account of what has be¬ 
fallen your friend, but it seems he has got himself into 
a pretty serious difficulty. Nothing less than the killing 
of a man over in the south part of the town.” 

“Budd Newbegin kill a man? That must be a mistake. 
Why, he would not hurt a fly.” 

“I do not know him, and was not a witness to the un¬ 
fortunate affair, which has driven a whole neighborhood 
wild. You will go with me to see him?” 

“Where is he?” 

“Under arrest at one of the officers’ houses. They talk 
of moving him in the course of an hour, so if you want 
to see him we had better be on our way.” 

“How did it happen?” persisted Zig-Zag, who could 
not realize the truth of the bare statement. 

“It seems he went to see the body of Old Nick Haskell, 
as it was hanging in the orchard, and while there Old 
Nick’s two nephews came along and told your man to 


A Hard Crowd. 167 

get out of the place. He told them he wouldn’t, and, as 
Jupe Haskell stepped toward him, Newbegin picked up a 
club and knocked him senseless on the spot. He lived 
about an hour. Of course, the sheriff was sent for, and 
Newbegin, or whatever his name is, was arrested while 
he was trying to escape. He is taking on like a baby, and 
if you care anything about him you had better go and see 
him. *It isn’t over fifteen minutes’ walk from here.” 

Zig-Zag was puzzled to know what to do, but knowing 
Budd’s unstable nature, he concluded that it might be he 
had got himself into a serious situation, and that it was 
his duty to see what he could do for him. Accordingly 
he consented to accompany the messenger to the place. 

Packing up his things, excepting a few of the most 
valuable, which he decided to take with him, Zig-Zag soon 
announced himself in readiness to start. 

The few spectators of his evening’s entertainment had 
all left the house, except the janitor who was only wait¬ 
ing to lock up the building. 

It was as dark as ever, but his guide carried a lantern, 
so they had little difficulty in getting along, until it seemed 
to Zig-Zag they had walked more than a mile. 

He was about to ask his companion, who had not 


168 A Hard Crowd. 

spoken since they had started, how much farther they had 
got to go, when he entered the yard in front of a house. 

A dim light was burning within the dwelling, which he 
saw was a small, one-storied building, and he saw 
through one of the dingy windows the heads of two or 
three men within. 

Without knocking at the door, his guide walked boldly 
in, bidding him to follow. 

There were eight or ten beetle-browed men in the low- 
walled, smoky-looking apartment, and Zig-Zag had 
scarcely stepped across the threshold before he realized 
that he had unwittingly entered into dangerous company. 

He started back to leave the house, when the door was 
closed with a loud slam, and the hoarse voice of one of 
the men, all of whom had sprung to their feet, exclaimed: 

“Stand where you are, you rascal! You are fairly 
caught.” 


CHAPTER XIX. 


A DEED FITTED TO A DARK NIGHT. 

After leaving Zig-Zag, Budd Newbegin had got about 
halfway to the hall, when he was accosted by a stranger 
who hailed him with the inquiry: 

“Hello, young man! do you want a chance to earn a 
dollar ?” 

“Me earn a dollar ?” asked the surprised Budd. “Guess 
you don’t know me.” 

“It’s a square thing,” declared the man, who it could be 
seen was very well dressed, but was smoking an old clay 
pipe. “Is it a bargain?” 

“Bargain for what?” 

“I have got a little undertaking which will take two 
to carry out. I have got one fellow, and now if you will 
help me, I shall be all right.” 

“Of course you will, if I help you.” 

“It won’t take you over half an hour. If you will 
come, I will make it two dollars.” 

If Budd had a weak spot, it was for money, and poor, 


170 A Deed Fitted to a Dark Night. 

as lie had always been, the two dollars seemed big to 
him. But with his natural Yankee cunning, he said: 

“Make it three?” 

“I shall have to, if you say so, though it’s an awful 
price for the work to be done. Here’s your pay, so don’t 
delay any longer.” 

If Budd had had any doubts about the honesty of the 
man, it was dispelled by the sight of the money. 

“Are you sure I can get back in half an hour? My 
boss’ll turn me off if I don’t, and I have got an all¬ 
winter’s job.” 

“No doubt but you can get back in less time, if you 
don’t bother too long in starting.” 

Budd hesitated but a moment. He reasoned that he 
was not really needed at the hall yet, and that he would 
get back by the time it would be open. So he said: 

“I’m your man.” 

Budd, without asking the stranger even his name, fol¬ 
lowed him down the road a short distance, when he 
turned into a sort of wheel path leading across the 
pastures. 

Night so far advanced that it soon became dark, and 


A Deed Fitted to a Dark Night. 171 

Budd found himself stumbling along the uneven way, 
until he demanded: 

“Look here, mister, you may have your old three dol¬ 
lars, and I’ll go back, if we have got to kerwallop like 
this all night.” 

“Almost there. See that light off to the right ? That's 
where we stop.” 

In a few minutes they came out in front of the shanty 
of a house, when Budd’s companion called to some one 
within: 

“Here, Tom! I have found a man for us. Come out 
with the lantern as quick as you can.” 

Though no reply came from the house, the sound of 
some one moving about was soon heard, and after what 
seemed a long time, a man came shuffling out of the 
dwelling, carrying in one hand an old battered lantern 
that may. have belonged to his grandfather. Inside the 
tin globe spluttered and flickered a short piece of candle, 
whose feeble glare seemed to make the darkness more 
intense. 

“Who is he, Jim?” asked the newcomer, who looked 
enough like the other to be his brother. 

“It's one of ’em chaps as showed at the Center last 


172 A Deed Fitted to a Dark Night. 

night. I caught him as he was going to the Hollow 
Hall. He’s got the sand.” 

“Then let’s have the plaguey job over and done with. 
Come on.” 

With these words, he led the way down through the 
field, soon coming to another building of about the same 
style as the one they had left. 

By this time Budd was growing uneasy. Off to his 
left, not very far away, he could see the glimmer of a 
dozen or more of lights, coming no doubt from the 
homes making up the hamlet of Leathersville. Where 
were these men taking him ? 

“Where are you going?” he said, stopping suddenly. 

“Only a few doors farther. Say, Tom, ain’t we most 
there?” 

“Hist, Jim! there’s the tree! and there’s it!” 

The speaker for an instant held up his dim light so it 
shone on the space ahead, when Budd caught the glimpse 
of a dark form hanging limp and lifeless in midair. 

It was a human body, and it quickly flashed through his 
mind that it was the lifeless figure of Nick Haskell, the 
suicide. 


A Deed Fitted to a Dark Night. 173 

“Did you see it?” asked the one named Jim, his teeth 
chattering. 

“Did you mean that cops?” asked Budd. 

“Yes. Don’t go any nearer, Tom. I wouldn’t go 
down there for a million dollars.” 

“You ain’t afraid, are you, young feller?” 

“I don’t see anything to be afraid of.” 

“I knew you had the sand. Now we want that moved, 
and I have got you over here to do it. Jes’ take it down 
and carry it over ’cross the brook on his own land. We 
ain’t going to have it on ours. It’s a sure haunt to touch 
it, that’s what ’tis. Go quick, and have it done. You 
have got your money. Tom will hold the lantern from 
here.” 

For a moment Budd could not realize that the men 
were in earnest, but their shaking limbs and chattering 
teeth were unmistakable witnesses to their fear. 

“You ain’t afraid?” 

“B’gosh! you don’t know Budd Newbegin. I ain’t 
afraid of Old Nick Haskell, dead or alive. Got a knife 
for me to cut the string with ?” 

“Here’s one,” replied Jim, handing him his pocket- 


174 A Deed Fitted to a Dark Night. 

knife. “Hurry! He don’t weigh a hundred, so you 
won’t have any trouble in carrying him.” 

The sputtering candle lending a weird, ghastly light to 
the gloomy scene, Budd would not have been to blame, if 
he had recoiled from the uncanny purpose; but he was 
not of that nature, and, nothing daunted, he boldly ad¬ 
vanced, his every movement watched by his companions. 

The rain had saturated the clothes of the dead man, so 
that the figure hung limp and lank. Fortunately for the 
purpose at hand, the suicide had not climbed high before 
performing his dreadful deed, so Budd had no difficulty 
in reaching the object, and encircling the cold, clammy 
form with his left arm, with his right hand he cut the 
rope, when the body fell its full weight in his hold. 

Perhaps the excitement of the occasion lent him 
strength, and it may have been as light as the men had 
said, for Budd found no difficulty in carrying it in his 
arms, while he ran at the top of his speed among the 
trees, until he had crossed the brook. 

At that moment he heard wild cries from the men, and, 
stumbling over an obstacle in his pathway, he came near 
falling, at the same time losing his hold on the body and 
letting it slip from his grasp. 


A Deed Pitted to a Dark Night. 175 

Trying to renew his clutch, he felt the head and body 
separate, the last falling to the ground, while the former 
remained in his hands. 

By this time Budd was scared, and in his fright, un¬ 
mindful that he still carried the ghastly trophy, he fled 
at the top of his speed without knowing or caring for 
the direction he was taking. 

Budd had not continued his wild flight far before a 
couple of men seemed to spring out of the ground in his 
very path, and one of them thrust a lantern into his 
face. 

Giving a yell of terror, Budd dropped the head he had 
been holding with such an unconscious grip, at the feet 
of the men, and sped past them like a frightened deer. 

The next moment he fell headforemost into a pit they 
had been digging to the depth of three or four feet. 

“Heavens!” gasped one of the men, “look, Jupe! it is 
Uncle Nick's head!" 

“And that catamount was a-stealin’ it. Grab him, 


Lige, afore he climbs out’n thet hole." 


CHAPTER XX. 


BUDD GETS INTO A BOX. 

Unharmed by his fall, though he had filled his mouth 
with the loose earth, and spluttering and clawing at the 
banks of the pit, Budd reached the top just in time to be 
clutched by the desperate men. 

“Hold fast to him, Jupe!” cried the one named Lige. 

Budd struggled fiercely for his freedom, but the twain 
were too much for him, and handling him as they would 
have done a wild beast, the youth was soon overpowered. 

“Who is it, Lige?” asked Jupe Haskell, for the couple 
were none other than the nephews of Nick Haskell, the 
suicide. 

“It’s one on ’em chaps as showed at the Center las’ 
night,” replied the other. 

“Sho! then we’re in luck. But what shall we do with 
him?” 

“Chuck him inter th’ hole here an’ kiver him up!” 

Budd could not repress a shudder at this cold-blooded 
proposal, while he did not doubt the men were capable of 
doing it. 


Budd Gets Into a Box. 


177 

“We can’t ’ford it, Lige. That diggin’ is too hard for 
that. What has come of—of that he had ?” 

“Unk’s headpiece? It’s rolled down the hill. Wot’s 
the imp been doin’? Speak up, ye leetle varmin,” accom¬ 
panying the demand with a kick which brought a groan 
from Budd. 

“Let me go!” cried the prisoner. “I wasn’t meddling 
with your affairs. I have got an important engagement.” 

“Hear th’ green-headed fool!” exclaimed Jupe, laugh¬ 
ing derisively. “I kalkilate you have got an ’portant 
’gagement, younker, an’ that right here.” 

“We’re diggin’ that hole there for our defunct uncle’s 
grave, now we air goin’ to make it do for you, too. An’ 
we can’t go any deeper, nuther, ’cos it’s too hard diggin’. 
Ain’t that so, Lige?” 

“You bet. An’ we can’t bother all night here, either.” 

“Say, let’s chuck th’ fool inter th’ box while we git th’ 
ol’ man’s carcass.” 

“An’ another swig o’ that cider. I’m ez dry ez a fish.” 

The men had already been drinking heavily, and what 
with another “swig,” Budd’s fate seemed sealed. 

Without more delay they dragged him to the nearest 


178 Budd Gets Into a Box. 

building, whence a faint light was coming, and into the 
shed adjoining the house. 

Here the imprisoned Budd saw a box, newly made, and 
for a purpose which sent a shiver through his frame, as 
Lige Haskell pulled it forward, saying: 

“Chuck him in, Jupe!” 

Jupe couldn’t do it alone, but with the assistance of his 
Herculean brother, Budd Newbegin was thrust into the 
narrow prison, and the box cover pressed down upon 
him. 

“We’ll l’arn you how to monkey with our dead unk!” 
cried Jupe Haskell, as the prisoner was finally pressed 
into the uncomfortable quarters. “Quick! a hammer, 
Lige.” 

In vain poor Budd begged, and kicked, and tried to 
break away, for in spite of his entreaties and struggles he 
was not only put into the box, but its cover was so se¬ 
curely nailed on that he was hopelessly a prisoner. 

He heard his inhuman captors say something, which 
he could not distinguish, and then it became silent all 
about him, save for his own outcries. 

Had he possessed more presence of mind, he must have 


Budd Gets Into a Box. 


179 

known that these would not be heard for any distance, 
muffled as they were by the sides of his living tomb. 

It was no weakness on the part of Budd if he lost his 
presence of mind, for no one who has not been in such a 
horrible situation can realize the awful agony he felt. 

In his cramped position he could not bring much pres¬ 
sure on the sides of the box, though he crowded and 
strained until every particle of strength seemed to have 
left him. 

Pausing a moment in his struggles, he thought of Zig- 
Zag, and wondered if the boy conjurer would ever learn 
of his fearful fate. Then he renewed his efforts to es¬ 
cape. 

Succeeding in turning upon his right side, he drew up 
his legs as far as possible to strain at the boards so fu¬ 
riously that he felt them yield. 

Thus encouraged, Budd lifted harder and harder, the 
boards bending more and more before his pressure, until 
it seemed they must break. Still they held, and yet he 
tugged with might and main. 

Then suddenly there came a loud crash, when one of 
the boards snapped in twain, the sudden giving away 
causing him a shock which fairly took away his breath. 


180 Budd Gets Into a Box. 

Budd quickly rallied, however, and fearing that the 
noise he had made in breaking the box would bring his 
enemies upon him, he scrambled to his feet. 

It was pitch-dark in the shed, and as he hesitated for a 
moment trying to make out the direction he must take to 
escape, he heard the men carousing in the house. 

Groping his way along as best he could, Budd nearly 
made the circuit of the inside of the shed before he 
stumbled upon the door leading into the open air. 

He was none too soon, for at that moment Lige 
Haskell’s burly figure appeared on the threshold of the 
door leading into the main house. 

“W’y don’t you come ’long, Jupe?” muttered the 
wretch, in a maudlin tone. “We can’t be all night—great 
candles! he’s out! Here he goes—come quick, Jupe, or 
wes’ll lose him!” 

Budd had succeeded in getting the door open, when 
with Lige Haskell upon his heels he fled into the dark¬ 
ness of the night. 

Of course, it was impossible for the fugitive to shape 
his course in any particular direction, and he hadn’t gone 
very far before he found himself in front of another of 


Budd Gets Into a Box. 181 

the low-walled houses which went to make up Leathers- 
ville. 

A light was burning inside, and, with his pursuers close 
behind him, Budd quickly decided to seek the protection 
of the owner, so flinging open the door, he rushed in 
without ceremony, while he heard his pursuers close at 
hand. 

The first room Budd entered was empty, but remem¬ 
bering that the light had come from the opposite part of 
the dwelling, he bounded across a small hall, to find him¬ 
self in an apartment whose gloom was partially dispelled 
by a flickering tallow candle. 

At first he thought the room was unoccupied, but a 
groan from a bed in the farther corner caused him to look 
in that direction. He saw some one lying prone upon its 
top. 

“Who—hie—the demon air ye, cornin’ inter peaceful 
folks’ house’n this way?” demanded the man, who was 
evidently the worse for liquor. 

“I am hunted down by two murderers!” cried the fu¬ 
gitive. “Where can I hide from them?” 

“Want to hide, eh?” said the man. “Who’s arter ye, 


the officer?” 


182 Budd Gets Into a Box. 

“Yes; hark! I hear them coming. Where can I go? ,, 

“Into that chist there; it’s big an’ stout/’ pointing to 
the same as he spoke. 

But Budd’s recollection of his recent sufferings in such 
a place were too vivid for him to risk such a chance. At 
that moment his pursuers could be heard without. 

“Hello, Dan’l!” called out the well-known voice of 
Lige Haskell, “yer see a stranger around this way?” 

“It’s the boys!” cried the old man, starting up to a sit¬ 
ting posture. 

Then, as if a new light had dawned upon his clouded 
intellect, lie exclaimed: 

“It’s ye they want!” 

Budd felt that his situation was desperate enough for 
him to do almost anything, and he glanced wildly around 
the room for an avenue of escape. Seeing the chest for 
the second time, a reckless scheme of eluding his enemies 
entered his mind. Turning upon the man, he cried: 

“Yes, they are after me, and you have got to help save 
me. Quick! into that trunk there. I am a desperate 
person.” 

He had opened the chest, and, as the man hesitated, 


Budd Gets Into a Box. 183 

unable to comprehend the startling command, Budd seized 
him by the collar and jerked him upon the floor. 

“Don’t kill me!” implored the terrified wretch. “I’ll 
do it!” 

In his impatience Budd could not wait for his victim to 
act, and, half lifting him from his feet, he pushed the 
other into the roomy receptacle and dropped the cover 
over him. 

The key was in the lock, and Budd had barely turned 
it, thus securing his prisoner, when again Lige Haskell’s 
voice was heard. 

“Are you dead, Dan’l?” he demanded. 

Budd uttered an unintelligible cry in response, as he 
leaped upon the bed, and pulled the dirty blankets around 
him as much as possible. 

The next instant the door was flung open with a vio¬ 
lence which sent it flying from its hinges, when Lige and 
Jupe Haskell, followed by two or three others, rushed 
pell-mell into the room. 

“Has he been here?” demanded the foremost. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


ZIG-ZAG ASTOUNDS HIS ENEMIES. 

“What do you mean?” demanded Zig-Zag, as one of 
the ruffians placed his burly figure against the door, thus 
defying all egress. “Stand aside, sir, and let me pass 
out.” 

“Not so fas’, my leetle bantam,” spoke up one of the 
others, who had taken a step forward. “We have sent 
for you on ’portant biziness, an’ ye mus’ ’scuse us ef we 
discomboberlate yer plans. Took a seat till th’ boss 
comes.” 

Zig-Zag realized that he was among some of the worst 
of the so-called Leathers, but he knew it would be the 
best for him to put on a bold front. 

“There must be some mistake, for you are all strangers 
to me.” 

“So much th’ better fer us then, eh, Jake Leathers?” 
he said nodding to him who stood against the door. 

“What’s that ye say, ol’ man Brady? Don’t ye dare 
to ’dress me in that way, when ye know my name is Jake 
Haskell. I’ve warned ye afore,” 


Zig-Zag Astounds His Enemies. 185 

“Git out with yer foolery,” retorted the other. “We 
all know every consarned Haskell is a Leathers. As if 
changin’ th’ name o’ th’ bird c’u’d change its feathers.” 

“Ye air nothin’ but a Pickdust half-breed, wuss nor a 
full-blood Leathers.” 

“Shut up, both of you!” interposed a third. “What 
d’ye wanter rake over thet fight fer now? Ye had better 
be huntin’ up thet durned chap which fetched us this biz- 
ness. Why don’t he come?” 

During this highly edifying conversation, Zig-Zag had 
been looking around to see that the room in which they 
were was about ten by twelve feet, and contained two 
windows, and an inner door opening into the interior of 
the house. 

“Take a seat, younker,” said he who seemed to be the 
leader of the gang. “Ye see we air waitin’ fer th’ boss to 
come, an’ th’ way it looks now we may hev to look a 
leetle bit c’ a spell. Alwus take life easy w’en ye can, 
has been my morter.” 

“I demand an explanation for this treatment of me. I 
came here expecting to meet a friend of mine, who this 
man said was in trouble. Where is he?” 


186 Zig-Zag Astounds His Enemies. 

“We air all yer friends es long es ye behave yersel’. 
Wot was th’ chap’s name ye were wantin’ ?” 

“You all know well enough,” replied Zig-Zag, holding 
up the slip of paper which appeared to carry a message 
from Budd. 

“I see. Well, I’m sorry to say but thar chap has gone 
to th’ bad. I don’t know what they’ve done with him.” 

“Say, Jake, isn’t this the same chap es showed at th’ 
Center las’ evenin’?” 

“Same chick.” 

“Look here, younker, we’re expectin’ a chap here any 
minnit who said he had some bizness to do with you. 
Now, while we’re waitin’ we shall ’steem it a great favor 
ef you’ll do some o’ ’em funny things you did las’ night. 
We were there, an’ we’ll give you th’ credit o’ slinging 
out some o’ th’ bes’ things thet has ever come to this for¬ 
saken town. Go ahead an’ make some o’ that money, an’, 
ef we don’t ketch it, you may put us down fer lunkheads.” 

Zig-Zag realized that it was useless to argue with these 
men, and behind their semi-courteous treatment he knew 
lurked a sinister purpose. In his own mind he had no 
doubt but Steerly was the person for whom they were 
waiting. Until this man came, he was in no particular 


Zig-Zag Astounds His Enemies. 187 

peril, though he was closely watched, and every avenue 
of escape carefully cut off. Perhaps by humoring them 
with a few feats of sleight-of-hand he might outwit them 
and get away. 

With this purpose in his mind, he said: 

“I am always ready to display these little pranks of 
mine, and, if you care to have me, I will perform a little 
trick which will surprise you. Shall I go ahead?” 

“Yes,” chorused the men. “Show us your bes\” 

“Very well, I will show you what I saw done a few 
years ago in far off India. Perhaps some of you have 
never heard of that country, it is so far away. To those 
I want to say that they have some of the most wonderful 
conjurers in the world. Professor Wiswell, of whom I 
learned my conjuring, spent many years of his life among 
those fakirs, and he could do very many of their feats as 
well as the most practiced of them. 

“Now, that you may watch every movement of mine, 
and see that there is no trickery in what I am doing, I 
wish for you to all sit on the same side of the room, so 
you will face me. If you think I shall take advantage 
of the time to get away from you, you may all sit on the 
side toward the door. Is not that fair?” 


188 Zig-Zag Astounds His Enemies. 

Not seeing how they could lose any advantage by this 
change of position, the men quickly did as they were 
requested, ranging themselves along the wall with the 
long table between them and the boy conjurer. 

“I thank you/’ said Zig-Zag, taking his wand from the 
box of apparatus which he had brought with him. “Now, 
gentlemen, the little feat I am about to show you is no 
trick at all. It will merely show you the wonderful in¬ 
fluence one person may have over another. I am going 
to subject you to my will power. You are strong men, 
any one of you apparently capable of doing with me as 
you wish. You do not realize how helpless I can make 
you in my power. 

“I spent a long time to master this art, and it has been 
many a day since I have attempted to bring another under 
my power, but I do not believe I have lost my cunning. 

“No! never! I am master of you! One, two, three, 
presto! Rise to your feet such of you as can!” 

During this talk, Zig-Zag’s gaze had been fixed upon 
the little group of wondering men, while he walked back 
and forth, gesticulating fiercely, as he shook the magic 
wand in the air. Really all this display, as is usually the 
case with conjuring, was a cover for him to gain the time 


Zig-Zag Astounds His Enemies. 189 

which was necessary for him to throw that mystical power 
possessed by the hypnotizer over his victims. 

“Can you rise?” 

The agonized looks and spasmodic motions of the up¬ 
per part of their bodies answered plainer than words, his 
question. 

Not one of them could stir from his seat. In fact, their 
lower limbs seemed paralyzed. Move about and twist as 
they would they could not lift a foot from the floor. 

“You see I am no idle boaster,” continued the boy con¬ 
jurer. “But do not be alarmed, for I am not going to 
harm you. Still, for my own safety, I have one request 
to make. You have firearms about you. Please lay them 
on the table.” 

Simultaneously nine arms reached out, and as many 
pistols and revolvers were laid upon the table. 

“Thank you, gentlemen. You are good subjects for 
my purpose. I have a question now I want you to answer 
me. Who is the man you are waiting for, and who hired 
you to get me here?” 

“He said his name was Steerly,” replied the leader of 
the party. 

Zig-Zag was about to speak again, when sounds with- 


190 Zig-Zag Astounds His Enemies. 

out the house caught his attention. What if Steerly was 
already at the door? 

The question had scarcely formed itself in his mind be¬ 
fore the door was forced open, and four men, bearing be¬ 
tween them a huge box, staggered into the room. 

“We’ve got him as tight as a pig in a poke!” exclaimed 
the foremost, and then a cry of dismay escaped his lips. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

OLD NICK'S GHOST. 

“Oh—oh—o-h!” gasped Budd Newbegin, muffling his 
voice with a corner of the quilt, as Jupe and Lige Haskell, 
with their companions, burst into the room where he had 
sought refuge. 

“Has he been here, Dan , l? ,, repeated the foremost of 
the pursuers. “We see him come this way, an' we air 
arter him red hot!” 

“Yas, he’s been hyur—he’s hyur!” panted Budd, shak¬ 
ing as with the palsy. “I (hie) he-” 

“Been here! Where is he? Speak up, quick, fer we’ve 
no time to fool ’way.” 

“He (hie) he hid (hie) in thet chist!” mumbled young 
Newbegin. 

“In thet chist!” repeated Lige Haskell. “D’ye hear 
thet, boys? We hev got him.” 

As if to prove Budd’s words the entrapped man had 
begun to kick and cry out from his narrow prison, though 
nothing intelligible could be made of his cries. 

“He’s there, sure!” declared Jupe, seating himself upon 


Old Nick’s Ghost. 


192 

the trunk. “Hey, younker, how d’ye feel now? Let’s 
see how ye look.” 

“Be keerful!” warned Lige. “Better keep him right 
in the chist till we git to ’Rastus’.” 

“Thet’s so,” spoke up Budd, still imitating as best he 
could the voice of the imprisoned man. “He (hie) 
wanted me to (hie) lock him in. Here’s (hie) th’ key,” 
tossing the same out upon the floor. 

“Come, boys!” cried Lige; “we’re in luck. Let’s tote 
him, chist an’ all, right up to ’Rastus’.” 

The others lending their assistance, the Haskell brothers 
each caught hold of the chest, and the next moment Budd 
felt like shouting for joy as he saw the entire party pass 
out of the door. 

“Hockey smut!” he exclaimed, springing from the 
couch upon the floor. “I wonder what the chaps’ll say 
when they find who they’ve toted off? But I mustn’t 
hang around here any longer. I’ll bet Zig is getting 
mighty anxious about me. That show’ll go bu’st, if I 
don’t hum and get there.” 

Leaving Budd to look out for himself, let us follow the 
Haskells and their confederates with their burden. 

Instead of going straight to ‘Rastus’, as they intended 


Old Nick’s Gliost. 


193 

at first, they concluded to tarry at their home long enough 
to have another glass of liquor apiece, which detained 
them so long that, as we have seen, they did not get to 
their destination until Zig-Zag was in the midst of his 
surprising adventure. 

As the door was pushed open, our hero expected to see 
Steerly enter the house, followed perhaps by a party of 
his hirelings. His escape cut off, he pulled the table back 
toward him, and placed the firearms out of the reach of 
his enemies. 

Instead of Steerly, the foremost of the newcomers was 
Lige Haskell, carrying the leading end of the chest, while 
his companions assisted him in this strange removal of a 
prisoner. 

At sight of the unexpected tableau in the home of his 
associate, Haskell let the box slip from his grasp, and the 
others losing their hold, the object fell to the floor, where¬ 
upon a tremendous howl followed from him within, who 
must have suffered a fearful shaking up by this operation. 

The spell over Erastus Brady and his party was sud¬ 
denly broken, and as the gang sprang to their feet, Lige 
Haskell cried: 

“What air ye doin’ hyur?” 


194 Old Nicies Ghost. 

“Wot in creation air ye a-fetchin’ inter my house ?” de¬ 
manded the host, his attention more taken up by the ap¬ 
pearance of the box than anything else. 

“It's him we caught at DanTs, an’ we thought it was 
safest to fetch him hyur jess as we had him.” 

“Who?” 

“W’y, one o’ ’em chaps as showed at th’ Center las’ 
night. We’s to hev a hundred dollars, if we caught ’em 
by-” 

“Shet up! Don’t ye see him?” pointing toward Zig- 
Zag, who stood a silent witness of this strange scene. 

Though the Haskell brothers must have noticed Zig- 
Zag at first, they had not seemed to comprehend that his 
presence there meant anything unusual, until that mo¬ 
ment, when Lige exclaimed: 

“How’d he come here ?” 

“Jake fetched him hyur; but look out fer him, boys, 
he’fe the very-” 

“Wot in creation is all this fuss erbout, an’ wot d’ye 
mean by bringin’ me around like this ?” interposed a gut¬ 
tural voice, and a gray head was thrust up from the chest, 
whose lid had been broken open by the fall. 

Then there was some lively scrambling about the place, 



Old Nick’s Ghost. 


195 

when a man’s body staggered up from the narrow prison, 
until a pair of long, flail-like arms waved frantically in 
the air. 

At the sound of the voice the crowd had turned toward 
the speaker, when wild, excited cries followed. 

“It’s Old Nick’s ghost!” screamed Haskell. “It was 
in that chist!” 

With these words the terrified wretch made a wild dash 
for the door, knocking over two or three of his com¬ 
panions in his headlong flight. 

The next moment Lige, with a cry of terror, followed 
his brother. 

This was enough to arouse the others, when, with ex¬ 
clamations of fright, the entire lot of Leathers rushed out 
of the door, the startling cry filling the air: 

“Look out fer Old Nick’s ghost! It’s arter us!” 

“Hoi’ on, ye blarsted fools!” roared the late occupant 
of the chest, staggering to his feet and starting in pursuit 
of the others as fast as he could get along, leaving Zig- 
Zag master of the scene. 

“Well, this beats everything I have seen,” said the boy 
conjurer, unable to keep his thoughts to himself, as he 
witnessed the sudden and remarkable rout of his enemies. 


196 Old Nick’s Ghost. 

“I think I will improve this opportunity to leave this 
place.” 

Accordingly Zig-Zag lost no further time in leaving the 
house, to find that the Haskell brothers and their precious 
companions had passed beyond hearing, excepting Old 
Nick whom he could hear a short distance away mut¬ 
tering and cursing himself and everybody else, particu¬ 
larly the last. 

We might as well explain here that the hanging of 
Nick Haskell had been a hoax, planned and carried out 
by a party who did not like him. The figure discovered 
hanging from the limb of an apple tree in his neighbor’s 
orchard had been but a carefully made effigy, and it was 
that which Budd had been hired to remove from the un¬ 
desirable locality, by those who, not knowing the truth, 
had not dared to do it themselves. 

Old Nick all the time had been sleeping off a prolonged 
debauch at the home of a Daniel Leathers, and, of course, 
it was he and not Dan Leathers whom the Haskell 
brothers and their confederates had carried off in the 
chest. 

It seemed Jupe and Lige Haskell had been deceived in 


Old Nick’s Ghost. 


197 

regard to the fate of their uncle, as well as the rest, for 
they had actually dug a grave to receive his remains. 

Leaving the graceless Leatherses to blunder into the 
truth of the peculiar state of affairs, we will go back to 
Zig-Zag, whose first thought after finding himself free 
from the disreputable gang, was to think of Budd New- 
begin and resume his search for him. 

The sky was clearing away, so that an occasional star 
could be seen, though the night was still very dark. 
Whither to turn to look for his friend, Zig-Zag was unable 
to decide. 

The problem was nearer a solution than he dreamed, 
for he had not gone far in the direction of the thicker set¬ 
tled portion of Leathers district, when he caught sight of 
some one dodging behind a clump of trees, while a well- 
known voice asked: 

“Mister! tell me where I’ve been. I mean, where I 
should be if I weren't here ?" 

“Hello, Budd! is that you?" 

“Sol Ginger! whoop! it's Zig, and I'm a saved man." 

“Where have you been, Budd?" asked Zig-Zag, as the 
other rushed to his side and threw his arms around him. 

“Never's so glad to see anybody in my life. I’ve been 


198 Old Nick’s Ghost. 

lost more than three hours, and I have tramped more’n a 
hundred miles.” 

“Impossible, Budd. But never mind about that. You 
are evidently laboring under great excitement. While we 
are returning to the house, you can tell me all that has 
befallen you. I am curious to know why you came up 
here instead of going to the hall.” 

“B’gosh! I guess you ain’t any more cur’us ’n I am. 
I’ll bet there ain’t another feller in New Hampshire could 
go through half I have.” 

By the time Budd had made his companion acquainted 
with what the reader knows, they had come in sight of 
their stopping place. 

“So you did not write that note after all, Budd,” said 
Zig-Zag, amazed that a forgery had been so cleverly done, 
and he did not doubt its being the work of Steerly. 

A furious rain was falling the next morning, but not¬ 
withstanding that Zig-Zag settled with his host and hired 
him to take himself and Budd, with their luggage, to the 
adjoining town, where he was billed to appear that night. 

On the whole, he was glad to shake the dust, or rather 
the mud, of Bymtown from his feet, and to feel that he 
had parted with the Leathers gang. 


Old Nick’s Ghost. 


199 

The following week was uneventful. Zig-Zag gave six 
entertainments to good houses, and was well pleased with 
his success. Budd was happy. 

At the end of that time Zig-Zag received a communica¬ 
tion, which he saw was postmarked “Glimmerton.” 

Hastily tearing open the envelope, he found within a 
letter from Mr. Benton. As he finished reading it, he ex¬ 
claimed to his companion: 

“Hurrah, Budd! Mr. Benton wants me to come and 
see him open that trunk. Now I shall know Professor 
Wiswell’s secret.” 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


WHAT WAS IN THE TRUNK. 

Immediately upon the receipt of Mr. Benton’s letter, 
Zig-Zag resolved to go to Glimmerton as soon as possible. 
Upon inquiry, he found that his easiest and quickest way 
to get there would be to go by rail to a town called Lee, 
which would be but eight miles from his destination, and 
the train being an early one, he would have ample time 
to go from thence by team, so as to get back to the sta¬ 
tion in season to take the returning afternoon train. 

It was too late to start that day, but the following 
morning saw him ready for his journey, and at ten o’clock 
he drove into Mr. Benton’s yard, to be met by the select¬ 
man with a cordial greeting. 

“Do you know, I looked for you to-day. I suppose you 
are anxious to know what is to be learned of the mystery 
of your late guardian’s life.” 

Every moment’s delay seeming to him an hour, Zig- 
Zag at last saw Mr. Benton raise the lid of the trunk with 
a trembling hand, for he was almost as excited as our 
hero. 


What Was in the Trunk. 201 

Then they both saw the receptacle was filled to over¬ 
flowing with loose papers and documents. 

One by one these were taken out and hastily scanned 
by the anxious twain, the look of eagerness deepening on 
their countenances as they continued. 

Everything they found seemed to relate to conjuring— 
the life work of Professor Wiswell. There were descrip¬ 
tions, carried into minute detail, of strange and unheard 
of feats of legerdemain as performed by the fakirs of the 
East. Still they searched on without finding anything 
clearing up the mystery of his own life. 

“Ha!” exclaimed Mr. Benton, at last, “I have found 
something of importance now, I am sure,” and he held up 
to the gaze of his companion a well-thumbed bank book. 

“It says: ‘Mary and Charles Stanton/ ” said Zig-Zag. 
“I do not see his name upon it at all.” 

“Neither do I,” replied Mr. Benton; “but it shows that 
those persons, whoever they are, have here to their credit 
over ten thousand dollars. What can it mean ? Ah ! here 
is a paper which may explain it all,” holding up a slip he 
had found in the book. 

But both were disappointed with its brief message: 


202 What Was in the Trunk. 

“See private papers inside mahogany box. 

“W. W ” 

“I think you said you had that box,” said Mr. Benton. 

“Yes, sir; but there was nothing in it but a few circu¬ 
lars and advertising sheets. Perhaps Mr. Steerly had 
taken out everything valuable.” 

“I am afraid so; but keep the box with zealous care. 
It may be worth something to you before we get through. 
Ha! here’s another bank account, and as big as the other. 
And deeds of land in India, all bearing the seal of the 
British Government. He must have been rich.” 

Zig-Zag gazed upon all this with wonder. 

“See!” exclaimed Mr. Benton, “here is something I do 
not understand. These papers all run to James Stanton, 
with the name of Watterson Wiswell immediately after in 
parenthesis. His right name was not Wiswell, I should 
judge by that. Did you ever hear him use the name of 
Stanton in any way?” 

“No, sir. But I have always felt that he had some 
great secret which he did not care to tell any one. Often 
I have seen him sit without speaking for hours at a time, 
and, when I would finally address him, he would start as 


What Was in the Trunk. 203 

if he had been asleep. There is nothing more to explain 
the mystery ?” 

“Nothing. I had hoped we should learn something to 
show us what to do. But we are as much as ever in the 
dark. I will write to that bank, and it may be we shall 
get a clew there. When we find out who Mary and 
Charles Stanton are, I think we shall be on the track of 
the whole mystery/’ 

Zig-Zag stayed with Mr. Benton until two o’clock dis¬ 
cussing the strange affair, when he felt obliged to start 
back to Lee, to be in season for the train to Garland, 
where he was booked for a show that night. 

Zig-Zag met with his usual success at Garland, and the 
following morning left for the next town, Rimmon, where 
he had been advertised to appear. 

The night proving dark and stormy, but few people 
ventured away from their firesides, so the boy conjurer 
displayed that evening to an audience of less than a score. 
Of course, he did not receive enough in Rimmon to meet 
his expenses, but accepting that as one of the alternatives 
of his profession, Zig-Zag paid his bills as cheerfully as 
usual. 


204 What Was in the Trunk. 

The storm cleared away in the morning, the weather 
being warm almost as a day in spring. 

“You will have a beautiful six-mile stage ride to Ha- 
ford/’ said the landlord of Rimmon House. “Blakely 
drives good horses, and I know you will enjoy it. I hear 
him coming now. He is always on time.” 

A minute later the four-horse stage running daily 
through Rimmon and on to Haford thundered into the 
yard, when all became bustle and excitement. 

Zig-Zag and Budd helped load their property into the 
vehicle, and then clambered aboard, the first taking a seat 
beside the driver, while the last got inside with the other 
passengers. These consisted of two ladies, one a middle- 
aged woman with a pleasant countenance, and the other a 
person several years her senior, whom she addressed as 
“Aunt Sarah.” 

The road after leaving Rimmon was a gradual grade 
for two miles or more, and finding his companion little in¬ 
clined to talk, Zig-Zag occupied his time in looking over 
the broken scenery, while he reflected upon his fortunes 
and wondered what fate had in store for him next. 

Again, in imagination, he was in far-off India, and 
kind-hearted Professor Wiswcll was with him, teaching 


What Was in the Trunk. 205 

him the many mysteries of which he was master, but care¬ 
fully guarding the secret of his own life. Ah, would 
enough of that secret be learned to do justice to him 
who had met it in such a tangle ? 

Then his thoughts ran into another channel, and he 
wondered if he would ever learn anything of his own 
parentage, and if he should always follow the wandering 
life of a conjurer, little dreaming of the strange develop¬ 
ments which were so soon to alter the course of his 
checkered career. 

In the midst of this medley of thought and conjecture, 
Zig-Zag was suddenly brought back to a realization of 
his situation by the gruff voice of the old stage driver ex¬ 
claiming : 

“Whoa, Tom! Easy there, Jim! what in the world 
ails you all? whoa!” 

The summit of land having been reached, they were 
about to begin a long descent, when the horses had be¬ 
come restless and unmanageable. 

The trouble was principally with the pole horses, and 
these instantly began to kick vigorously, and lurching 
furiously to and fro, broke into a smart gallop. 

The leaders aroused by this time, they also bounded 


206 What Was in tlie Trunk. 

madly down the descent, defying the efforts of the driver 
to hold them. 

“Whoa!” shouted the man, pulling for all he was worth 
upon the reins; “easy, boys, easy!” 

The road wound around the steep hillside, so the coach 
was liable to be hurled over the precipitous embankment 
skirting continually the right side of the way. 

Seeing that the driver had more than he could do, Zig- 
Zag was about to lend his assistance, when one of the 
reins broke with a loud snap, and the maddened animals 
leaped on more furiously than ever. 

“Look out for yourself!” cried the driver. “I-” 

Tossing the reins far out over the runaway horses in his 
excitement, the terrified speaker leaped from his seat into 
the scrub thicket of bushes growing by the wayside. 

Cries of horror now came from the panic-stricken pas¬ 
sengers, the shrill voice of Budd plainly heard above the 
exclamations of his companions. 

The reins flying in the air over the backs of the run¬ 
away horses, powerless to stay their mad flight, Zig-Zag 
clung to the seat for life, while he was borne on down the 
narrow, winding road at lightning-like speed. 

In the midst of this startling situation, as he glanced 


What Was in the Trunk. 207 

hurriedly from right to left in his lookout for some way 
of escape, Zig-Zag saw a man’s face in a thicket of pines 
growing at the foot of one of the huge bowlders strewing 
the landscape. 

Though he had but a swift view of the face peering 
out from the concealment, it was enough for him to recog¬ 
nize it as the dark visage of his unremitting enemy, John 
Steerly, the smile of a demon making unusually hideous 
the sinister countenance. 

The frightened team at that moment turning a curve in 
the downward course, Zig-Zag saw that the foot of the 
descent was nearly reached. But the joy this discovery 
brought him was turned to horror at the sight which next 
met his gaze. 

At the very base of the declivity the road crossed a 
mountain stream, which, swollen by the recent rains, was 
running unusually swift and high, and the bridge span¬ 
ning this torrent was gone. 

As Zig-Zag gazed for an instant upon this awful gap 
toward which the runaways were rushing with such ter¬ 
rible swiftness, he saw only death staring him in the face. 

A single word quivered upon his colorless lips: 

“Lost 1” 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE PROFESSOR OR HIS DOUBLE? 

Zig-Zag quickly recovered his self-possession. He 
must do so, or his career would end then and there. 

He knew the runaway horses must be stopped before 
the abyss was reached, or they would all be killed. With 
the same thought came another of escape, and how it 
might be accomplished. 

Then, with a nimbleness which was natural to him, he 
threw himself over the high dashboard and down upon 
the pole between the rear horses. Following this uncer¬ 
tain footing, he next jumped astride the nigh animal to 
seize upon its check rein and that of its mate. 

The reins of the leaders ran through a ring in the 
bridles of the others, so Zig-Zag soon had these in a firm 
grasp. 

By this time, however, the fearful crossing was so 
nearly reached that it would have been impossible to have 
stopped the infuriated brutes in season to avert a head¬ 
long plunge into the yellow, whirling waters. 

But our hero had already seen that the bank of the 


The Professor or His Double? 


209 

stream was comparatively clear of trees and brushwood 
for a considerable distance down stream, so, instead of 
trying to stop the runaways at once, he headed them 
along this narrow pathway at the very base of the over¬ 
hanging heights. 

Fortunately the leaders were less frightened than the 
other pair, and, obeying the bits with sure fidelity, they 
wheeled upon the new course, those behind them half- 
dragged in this direction with all that Zig-Zag could do 
upon their bits. 

The old coach careened to one side, and for a moment 
it seemed it must go over, but the speed of the horses 
abating swiftly, the vehicle righted and remained upon its 
wheels. 

Speaking for the first time to the affrighted animals, his 
voice fell with a soothing effect, and, after going a few 
rods, he succeeded in bringing the trembling creatures 
to a standstill. 

None too soon, either, for a bend in the river here cut 
off all further progress. Perhaps this fact had some¬ 
thing to do with the surrender of the horses, the foremost 
of which snorted and stamped as if aware of the danger 
in their pathway. 


210 The Professor or His Double? 

Zig-Zag was about to call to Budd for help, when the 
coach door was flung open and young Newbegin, looking 
very much the worse for his fright, leaped out upon the 
ground. 

“B’gosh! who’d a-thought!” 

“Take those leaders by the bit, Budd, and see if you 
can’t quiet them a little.” 

“Oh, dear!” exclaimed the younger woman, following 
Budd out of the coach, “what has happened?” 

“A little runaway, madam; but do not be alarmed any 
further, for the danger is over.” 

“I am so thankful. You hear that, aunt, the danger 
is over, so do not be frightened. Let me help you out of 
that clumsy concern.” 

In the course of a few minutes Zig-Zag and Budd had 
quieted the horses, so they were standing as docile as if 
nothing unusual had happened. 

“I don’t see what started them so,” said Zig-Zag, “they 
—well, I do see! Look here, Budd; that beats all I ever 
saw. Can it be possible that driver did not know of this ? 
Here are a lot of sharp-pointed brads fixed in the breech¬ 
ings of these harness, so as to stick into the horses the 
moment they should have to hold back any.” 


The Professor or His Double? 211 

The truth of this statement was apparent, and while 
Budd and Zig-Zag were wondering over the singular 
fact, the stage driver appeared upon the scene, he having 
escaped uninjured and followed after the runaways as 
fast as possible. 

“So they stopped, young man ? Well, I wouldn't have 
taken that risk for a hundred thousand dollars.” 

“If they had been left to their own fate,” replied Zig- 
Zag, sharply, “we should all be now in that river. 

“Look here, Mr. Blakely, perhaps you can explain this 
condition of your harness. It has evidently been the 
cause of all this trouble.” 

The driver’s surprise was greater than that of the 
others, and he raved like a madman. 

“If ever I find out who did that, I will send him to 
State prison, or I’m a living liar. Who could it have 
been ? I generally see if there is anything wrong with the 
harness, but this morning I was late and did not stop for 
anything. These horses were put on fresh just beyond 
Rimmon. I thought they acted more than commonly 
nervous.” 

By this time the ladies were aware of what had been 
done, when she who had previously spoken, said: 


212 The Professor or His Double? 

“I can tell you who did it; I am sorry to have brought 
this disaster upon you, but I did not dream he was in 
these parts. In fact, I supposed him dead.” 

“What is his name, Mrs. Marlow?” asked the old 
stager. 

“Andrew Marlow, and I am sorry to confess, my hus¬ 
band. But that fact does not hinder me from saying that 
he is a bold, bad man, who would not hesitate at any crime 
to injure me. I—I-” 

Here the poor woman broke completely down, but as 
soon as she had recovered somewhat, Zig-Zag said: 

“It may not be as bad as you think, Mrs. Marlow, for 
I have reason to believe that it was done by an enemy 
of mine. At least I caught a glimpse of his evil face 
from his concealment by the roadside as we came down 
the hill.” 

“Yes; I saw him and recognized him. It has been five 
years since I have seen him, but he has not changed so 
much but I should know him. He is wicked enough to 
have done this.” 

“But the man I saw is no friend to me, and his name 
is John Steerly,” said Zig-Zag, who was beginning to an¬ 
ticipate the denouement. 



The Professor or His Double? 213 

“It would be like him to change his name half a dozen 
times, but Andrew Marlow is his correct one, and I am 
sorry to say that he is my husband.” 

Before Zig-Zag had recovered enough from his sur¬ 
prise to say more, Mr. Blakely interposed: 

“We oughtn’t let the wretch get away. Perhaps we 
could capture him, if we were to go back where you two 
saw him.” 

“Very true,” said Zig-Zag. “Look after the horses, 
Budd, and I will go with Mr. Blakely to see if we can 
find him who has caused us this frightful adventure.” 

But the villain had taken himself to a safe distance be¬ 
fore that time, so the search for him was fruitless. 

As it would be impossible to cross the river, it became 
necessary for them to retrace their course for the entire 
distance to Rimmon, and then go by a different route to 
Haford. 

Of course, their story caused great excitement at Rim¬ 
mon, and the further cold-heartedness of the attempt at 
murder was shown when it was found that the bridge 
had been hewn down to make the doom of the victims 
more certain. 

The search for the desperado proved unavailing, and 


214 The Professor or His Double? 

his would-be victims were obliged to content themselves 
with the thought that they had escaped him once more, 
whatever might be their fates in the future. 

Zig-Zag found Mrs. Marlow a very pleasant-appearing 
woman, and he soon felt a warm friendship for her. In 
fact, he was reluctant to part from her, as he was obliged 
to at Haford, where she was to stop with her aunt for a 
few days. Her home, she said, was in Howland, and he 
gladly promised to visit her there, though he little dreamed 
under what circumstances he would fulfill that obligation. 

Three days later the boy conjurer opened an entertain¬ 
ment in a place called Middleton, where he was received 
by one of the most crowded houses of the season, though 
he had seen on the afternoon before that the hall, which 
was on the second floor, was in an old, dilapidated build¬ 
ing, the lower story of which had long since been vacated. 

In the best of spirits he began with the egg trick, and, 
wishing to enlarge upon it, he called upon some one in 
the crowd to come forward as a subject for him to experi¬ 
ment upon. 

In answer to this request some one arose in the rear of 
the hall and came down the middle aisle toward the plat¬ 
form which had been raised for the performer. 


The Professor or His Double? 215 

Zig-Zag was in the midst of one of his descriptions of 
what he proposed to do, when he looked at the man ap¬ 
proaching, and the words died upon his lips. 

It was little wonder his tongue refused to do its duty, 
for the man was a living likeness of Watterson Wiswell. 

So exact was the resemblance that the young performer 
was about to address him by the name of his dead friend, 
when Budd Newbegin rushed to his side, exclaiming: 

“Jump out of the window, quick, for your life, Zig! 


The floor is breaking down.” 


CHAPTER XXV. 


SOMETHING STRANGE. 

Budd’s excitement aroused Zig-Zag from the spell 
which the appearance of Watterson Wiswell’s double had 
thrown over him, and he turned to his companion with 
surprise. 

“It’s so!” protested Budd. “Hark! I can hear it 
cracking. She’s going! See her settle ?” 

By this time Zig-Zag was aware of the truth of the 
startling announcement, and he could feel the floor yield¬ 
ing beneath him, though the audience seemed unconscious 
of their great peril. 

“Let’s jump out of the window!” exclaimed Budd, his 
face the color of a sheet, while he shook like an aspen. 

In a moment Zig-Zag’s rare presence of mind asserted 
itself, and he said to Budd, sharply: 

“Stop! Not another word, unless you want to create 
a rush here,” and the other suddenly became silent, though 
trembling in every joint. 

Zig-Zag realized that the hall had got to be cleared at 
once, but it would never do to announce the fact of the 


Something Strange. 217 

situation, else a panic would follow, which would only 
add to the terrible peril of the scene. 

A less clear head and cool heart than his must have 
faltered in this awful ordeal, and almost any one would 
have followed Budd’s advice, and sought his own safety 
at the sacrifice of the others. 

Like an inspiration came to Zig-Zag’s fertile mind the 
way of escape from the awful dilemma, and, springing 
back to the center of the platform, while he waved his 
magic wand in the air, he cried: 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry, but I have just dis¬ 
covered that I cannot show to you the most marvelous 
trick known in the range of conjuring on account of the 
lowness of these walls. Now, if you will please leave the 
hall, outside I will astonish you with the most wonderful 
feat ever performed by the wisest fakirs of the land of the 
rising sun. Please move out as rapidly as possible with¬ 
out stepping on your neighbor’s toes. Those in the center 
aisle pass out first. Let the rest remain seated until they 
have left the room. Do not delay.” 

Though taken by surprise, that portion of the audience 
designated, without dreaming of the real object under¬ 
lying this request, hastily obeyed, a prayer of thanksgiv- 


2i8 Something Strange. 

ing rising upon the boy conjurer’s lips, as he saw them 
file out of the death trap. 

“Row of seats upon the right/’ said Zig-Zag, as the 
main body had passed the door, and he felt there was 
no further cause for alarm. 

Budd was still standing speechless and white as a ghost, 
when the last of the crowd had left the hall, and he and 
Zig-Zag were left alone. 

“Come, Budd, brace up; the danger is over. Help me 
carry the apparatus outside.” 

“B’gosh, I never see such a feller as you are, Zig.” 

Upon rejoining the crowd, which stood without the 
building, expectantly awaiting him, he found that it had 
already been apprised of something of the danger they 
had escaped, so it needed but a few words from him to 
make the situation plain to them. 

Half wild with suppressed excitement, one and all 
pressed around their deliverer from a horrible fate, 
wringing his hands and thanking him for his noble con¬ 
duct, while the tears stood in the eyes of many. 

As soon as he could, Zig-Zag addressed them, saying 
he did not wish to disappoint them of their entertainment, 


Something Strange. 219 

and if there was another hall convenient, he would resume 
his programme. 

But there was no building in the place suitable, and 
when he had learned this, he said: 

“I am sorry to deprive you of even a part of the pleas¬ 
ure you expected to-night, and while it may not be con¬ 
venient for me to carry out my original plans, I will see 
what I can do to interest you. I wish you would, all who 
care to witness this little side show of mine, come up to 
the common, where I shall have ample room to act.” 

Fortunately the night was warm, and a full moon in 
a cloudless sky made it nearly as light as day. 

The common was only a few rods from the hall build¬ 
ing, so that the crowd had quickly gathered around the 
boy conjurer, anxious and expectant. 

“As I told you,” began Zig-Zag, when he had made a 
few preliminary arrangements, “I cannot carry out my 
original plans, and this little feat of legerdemain, or de¬ 
ception, or conjuring, whichever you may choose to call 
it, is a performance I have never undertaken in this coun¬ 
try, though I have often thought I would like to do so. I 
will confess that I have hesitated only because among the 
enlightened American people it is not easily done, and 


220 Something Strange. 

that I may fail. I have never known but one man this 
side of the globe to do it, and if he is present here to¬ 
night, I cannot accomplish my purpose. 

“I wish the gentleman who was to assist me in the hall 
would come forward.” 

Zig-Zag’s manner betrayed nothing of the anxiety he 
felt, while he waited for the other to join him, until satis¬ 
fied he did not intend to acquiesce. 

“Can any one give me the gentleman’s name?” 

“He is a stranger in town,” answered one of the on¬ 
lookers. “He has worked a few days for Sam Johnson, 
but I think he finished his job to-day.” 

With this unsatisfactory information, Zig-Zag was 
obliged to continue; 

“Never mind; if I need any help, some one else will do 
just as well. Eut before I begin, I want to warn you 
that the feat I am about to undertake has never been done 
by any man, nor will it ever be, and yet I am going to 
make you believe that I am doing it. So then, watch 
me closely. Do not let your gaze leave me for an instant, 
lest you miss the secret of this great and wonderful feat. 
Again I must say, if there is a person in this crowd who 
knows my secret, I shall fail. Watch me closer—closer! 


Something Strange. 221 

See me smite my fists together—smite them until the 
sparks fly from the very nails! 

“Hark! what sound was that ? I thought I heard a dog 
barking in the sky!” 

During this impassioned speech Zig-Zag had been work¬ 
ing himself into a frenzy, while a deathlike stillness had 
fallen on the scene. Then, as the boy conjurer listened 
with the others, a low, but distinct bark of a dog came 
down to them from the space overhead. 

Plainly heard twice, it was then prolonged into a pitiful 
wail, as if the creature was in distress. 

The crowd stood with open-mouthed wonder, unable 
to comprehend that a dog could be in midair, and yet not 
a person present could dispute, without doubting his own 
senses. 

“Has any one lost a dog?” asked Zig-Zag, showing 
great concern in the matter. 

“Yes; I lost my little pet Blackie yesterday!” answered 
a voice from the rear of the crowd. “Oh, mister! please 
get him back to me if you can.” 

“Then it’s a black dog you lost,” said Zig-Zag. “That 
sounds like a black dog’s bark. He has wandered off into 


222 Something Strange. 

the sky, it must be. Still, I cannot see him, though I can 
look up half a mile or more.” 

“Bow-wow-ow-ow! ki-yi! ki-yi-yi!” reached their 
ears, louder and plainer than ever. 

“That dog is in great trouble over something,” declared 
Zig-Zag. “Perhaps he wants to come down from his 
dizzy perch, but don’t know how. A dog is a good deal 
like a child—always running into trouble without think¬ 
ing of a way out. Of course you will allow me to post¬ 
pone my amusement long enough to see what I can do 
for the little fellow. 

“Hi, there, doggy! jump—jump for your life!” 

A dismal howl answered this command, but no dog 
appeared. 

“He is afraid to jump,” said the boy conjurer; “and 
I don’t know as I blame him. Now, if I only had a cord 
or line of some sort, I would hand it up to him, so he could 

come down on that. Have any of- Hold on! I 

have with me just what I want. How fortunate.” 

While speaking, Zig-Zag took from one of his boxes a 
large roll of stout twine, which he began to reel off very 
rapidly, by winding from his left hand to the elbow. 

The piteous cries and howls seemed to increase, until at 



Something Strange. 223 

last Zig-Zag, crouching almost to the earth and swinging 
his arm after the fashion of an experienced pitcher in a 
baseball club, cried: 

“Now see me send up a ladder for doggy to descend 
by,” and, suiting action to the words, he sent the ball of 
twine flying into the air—up, up, until it had become a 
mere speck in the sky—up, up, up, until it disappeared 
among the stars, when the amazed spectators witnessed 
the remarkable sight of seeing a cord suspended from 
midair, and seeming to reach from the sky to the earth! 

Not a person was capable of speaking, not one moved, 
while the young wizard shouted, his white face fixed 
upward: 

“Now come down by the rope I have hung for you, 
my little black dog.” 

A heart-breaking wail was the only response, if that 
could be called such. 

“He is still afraid,” said Zig-Zag. “I shall have to 
send some one up after him. Who is there in this crowd 
who will volunteer to go upon this humane mission ?” 

As might have been expected, no one offered to under¬ 
take the apparently impossible feat. 

“Is it possible there is not a man among you who has 


224 Something Strange. 

the moral courage to rescue that poor dog?” exclaimed 
Zig-Zag, with evident disappointment. “Well, never 
mind. I have a friend with me who will go into a can¬ 
non’s mouth for a nest of robin’s eggs, if I tell him to 
do so. 

“Budd Newbegin, climb that line and bring down that 
dog. Mind you, do not hurt the poor creature.” 

“I can’t! I darsn’t!” whimpered Budd, who was shak¬ 
ing as if with the palsy. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 


ADVERTISED. 

“Dare not!” exclaimed Zig-Zag, contemptuously. 
“What do I keep you for, anyway? Budd, mount that 
ladder, and climb till you reach that dog, if you have to 
go to the stars.” 

Budd looked appealingly toward the spellbound specta¬ 
tors, and then, without a word, seized hold of the dan¬ 
gling cord and began to claw the air, as if in the act of 
climbing. 

Then, to the utter amazement of the lookers-on, he 
arose into midair, going up step by step, while his body 
swayed to and fro above them. 

Zig-Zag was waving his wand furiously, while his gaze 
was fixed upon the ascending youth, who went higher and 
higher, until his form grew indistinct in the pale moon¬ 
light. Still he mounted the frail support, foot by foot, 
higher and higher, until he was lost to view. 

“Keep on!” shouted the boy magician, frantically, 
swinging his wand over his head in a circle until its gyra¬ 
tions seemed to form a huge wheel. 


226 


Advertised. 


The spasmodic moving of the line proved that the 
climber was still ascending, until at last the cord hung 
limp and motionless. 

“Have you reached him?” called out Zig-Zag. 

“Ya-as,” replied the well-known drawling tone of 
Budd. “He is the blackest black dog I ever see.” 

“Well, send him down here, and don’t be all night 
about it, either.” 

Immediately following this command was a series of 
howls and barks from a dog, mingled with the cries of a 
human being, while the cord shook violently, as if some 
great commotion was taking place upon it. 

“Oh—oh! he’s biting me!” cried Budd. “He’s pulling 
my no-ose off!” 

Under less exciting circumstances, the scene must have 

t 

provoked hearty laughter, but as it was, one and all 
watched and waited with breathless interest. 

“Hurry up!” shouted Zig-Zag, giving the cord a shake. 

“Don’t! don’t!” exclaimed Budd. “You’ll shake me 
off. I have got all I can do to fight this dog! He’s go¬ 
ing to eat me up.” 

“Kill him!” replied the boy conjurer, “if you can’t do 
any better. Cut off a paw; that will fix him.” 


Advertised. 


227 

“Just as you say, Zig,” and then followed the sounds 
of a furious struggle between man and beast in midair, 
until finally something was seen to come down from the 
scene of action, falling at Zig-Zag’s feet. 

Picking the object up, he held between his thumb and 
forefinger a dog’s paw. 

The next instant this was followed by another; and 
then the creature’s head fell with a thud upon the ground, 
accompanied, the moment later, by the body. 

“Good!” exclaimed Zig-Zag; “you have done well. 
Now come down yourself.” 

Again the cord began to swing violently; but turning 
from this, the conjurer picked up the parts of the dog, 
placing them together as he did so, saying: 

“Poor little doggie had a sorry time. Well, he is all 
right now; but I should advise him to get home as quickly 
as possible.” 

With a yelp of unmistakable joy, the little black canine 
leaped from Zig-Zag’s arms and darted in among the 
crowd, to disappear almost instantly. 

At this juncture, Budd Newbegin reappeared, coming 
swiftly down the swaying line, until he stood safely upon 
the ground. 


228 


Advertised. 


Then the cord fell in a coil at the boy conjurer’s feet, 
while he, with great beads of perspiration standing out 
upon his face and hands, stood before the spectators with 
bowed head and hands clasped together. 

It seemed a long time before the spell was broken—be¬ 
fore the amazed throng could throw off the charm which 
had bound them—and then the night welkin rang with 
the pent-up shouts of the admiring crowd. 

Never had the good people of Haford witnessed such 
a sight as that, and it might be they never would again, 
for the feat just performed by the boy conjurer was 
among the most wonderful illusions of the eye and imag¬ 
ination the trained mesmerist ever undertook to thrust 
upon his victim. 

The ordeal had nearly prostrated Zig-Zag, and he was 
glad to take advantage of the applause to regain his over¬ 
taxed energies. 

As soon as he could make himself heard, he thanked 
the crowd cordially for its hearty appreciation of his ef¬ 
forts, following his remarks with a pleasing example of 
his powers of mimicry and ventriloquism, when the spec¬ 
tators, declaring that they had been more than satisfied, 
dispersed for their respective homes. 


Advertised. 


229 

Glad the affair was well over, Zig-Zag returned to the 
hall to look after his property before going to his stop¬ 
ping place, Budd following him, silent and apparently 
plunged into a deep meditation. 

“Wake up, Budd,” said Zig-Zag. “Did your ascent 
into the starry regions make you sleepy?” 

“B’gosh, Zig! would you a-thought I could have done 
it? Say, I’ll bet there ain’t ’nother chap as could done it. 
Do you think so?” 

“No.” 

“B’gosh! I’m going to try that ag’in some time.” 

“Let me know, Budd, for I want to be there.” 

From Haford, Ziz-Zag went to a still smaller town, his 
journey taking him into a mountainous district, so thinly 
settled that he wondered many times where all the people 
came from who attended his entertainments. But as long 
as his success continued good, he could not complain. 

One thing puzzled and annoyed him almost continually 
now. Wherever he went, he was pretty sure to see the 
stranger, whom he had first seen in Haford, and who so 
strongly reminded him of Professor Wiswell. This per¬ 
son had the same tall, stooping figure, broad shoulders, 
gray, grizzly beard, deep-sunken, piercing gray eyes, 


Advertised. 


230 

kindly, benevolent-seeming features, and yet, with all 
these, something which made him act and look like an¬ 
other individual, as of course he was. 

He invariably came into the hall late; always stood near 
the door, and glided out, to disappear, before Zig-Zag 
could reach his side. 

One evening, however, by darting out of a side door, 
the moment he had concluded his performance, the boy 
conjurer succeeded in meeting the other, as he descended 
the stairs in no evident haste. 

The moment he came into close contact with the 
strange man, all resemblance to Professor Wiswell van¬ 
ished, and he no longer felt that he was a relative, which 
hope he had fondly cherished. He felt uncomfortable in 
the other’s presence, and was glad when he could civilly 
bid him “good-night.” 

After that he gave him less thought, though he con¬ 
tinued to wonder why the uncommunicative unknown 
should persist in following him. 

He felt it certainly boded him no good, and he began 
to feel uneasy whenever the cold, gray eyes were fixed 
upon him. 

Eventually he found himself in a small town called 


Advertised. 


231 

Bossville, which was located on the right bank of a small 
river. Across this stream was another village about the 
size of Bossville, and expecting the inhabitants of this 
place, which was a thriving looking hamlet, would attend 
his “show,” he would be likely to have a large audience. 

He was soon struck by the peculiar fact, however, that 
the two towns, lying so closely together, had no evident 
means of intercourse. A little later he was told that a 
strong rivalry existed between the settlements, and he 
need not expect any from over the river to patronize him 
that night. 

Nothing discouraged by this statement, he went on 
with his arrangements, and at seven o’clock that evening 
he had the satisfaction of seeing a crowded house. 

“Bossville don’t do anything by halves,” said one of her 
citizens, proudly, as Zig-Zag entered the hall. “So do 
your best, young man, and you’ll hear some of the loudest 
hollering to-night you ever heard.” 

Before Zig-Zag could reply to this rather bombastic 
speech, a hand was laid heavily upon his shoulder, and, 
turning abruptly, he found himself face to face with a 
burly-framed, bewhiskered man of ponderous frame, 


232 


Advertised. 


“Be you the chap as runs this show?” demanded the 
stranger. 

“Yes, sir. 

“And you mean to show in this hall this evening?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“What in thunder do you mean by that, young man? 
Mebbe you think you can fool a whole house full of folks 
across the river, but you’ll find yourself something wuss’n 
a fool, if you try that little game.” 

“I do not understand you,” replied Zig-Zag, who saw 
that the man was laboring under great excitement. 

“Heap ignorance on injury, would you, you little runt? 
As if you didn’t know you were booked to show across 
the river to-night, and every man, woman and child in 
Bossville East has got together to honor you. And you 
a-showing over here among these low-downs. Young 
man, just go* back with me, or I’ll pull your head out of 
your collar. We ain’t to be trifled with.” 

Zig-Zag tried to pacify the man and to have him state 
clearly his grievance, but the more he said, the wilder the 
other became. He soon learned, however, that the rival 
villages were known respectively as Bossville West and 
Bossville East, and that, through some unaccountable 


Advertised. 


233 

blunder of his advance agent, he had been advertised to 
appear in both of the places at the same time! 

“I am sorry for the mis-” 

“Sorry don’t cure the disease, mister, and you’ll either 
go back and give your show as you promised at our hall 
this evening, or you’ll never give another. A whole 
house full of folks ain’t to be fooled in this way.” 



CHAPTER XXVII. 


NEW DANGER. 

Zig-Zag could not fail to see that the speaker was ter¬ 
ribly in earnest. 

The bystanders had suddenly become silent, while they 
listened to the threatening talk. 

Of course it would never do for him to leave the audi¬ 
ence here to show at another place, while it was as 
equally certain that it would not do to trifle with their 
rivals. 

With all his ready wit and fertility of resources, the 
boy conjurer was, for the moment “stumped,” as the ex¬ 
pression goes. 

“Let me speak to my partner,” he said, more to gain 
a little time than from any expected benefit he could an¬ 
ticipate from Budd. 

“Got a partner, eh?” demanded the representative of 
Bossville East. 

“Yes, sir. You did not expect I could run a combina¬ 
tion like this alone, did you?” 

“Hadn’t thought anything about it. But I’ll tell you 


New Danger. 235 

that that air crowd ’cross the river ain’t going to wait 
much longer, so make your story with your partner 
short.” 

Nodding to him, Zig-Zag motioned to Budd for him to 
step aside so he could speak with him alone. 

As he passed a knot of men grouped about the stove, 
one of them caught him by the sleeve, saying, in a low, 
threatening tone: 

“Look here, young mister! You don’t mean to go 
back on us fer ’em hoodlums ’cross th’ river, do you ?” 

“Never fear that,” replied Zig-Zag; “I know my 
friends.” 

“Bully for you, young man. Give us a blowout that’ll 
s’prise ’em Easterites. I don’t mind tellin’ you that we 
knowed you were billed for both places, but we kept th’ 
ball rollin’, ’cos we were bound to beat ’em other fellers. 
Now if you go back on us, you’ll smell tar fer six months, 
an’ you’ll wear more feathers ’n you need when you be¬ 
come a bloomin’ angel! Ain’t thet so, boys ?” 

“You bet.” 

Zig-Zag realized that his situation was too delicate for 
him to resent the speech, and merely bowing to the slov- 
enly-appearing speaker and his companions, he led Budd 


236 New Danger. 

aside, where he could converse with him without being 
heard. 

Budd soon showed that he had had his eyes and ears 
open, for he was well aware of the situation, so our hero 
had few explanations to make. 

“It’s an awkward fix, Budd,” said Zig-Zag, “and I see 
but one way out of it. Can I depend upon you to carry 
out just what I ask you to do?” 

“B’gosh, Zig! I should think you had got to know me 
by this time,” replied young Newbegin, in a tone which 
showed that he felt as if he had been insulted. 

“Excuse me, Budd. Now then, I want you to take a 
few boxes and packages—things I shall not need here— 
and go over the river, to tell the crowd there I will be 
along directly. Tell them anything you wish, so long as 
you keep them quiet until I can get there. But before I 
can leave this hall I must give at least the greater part 
of the programme. But I will look after the fellow who 
came after me, so all you will have to do will be to keep 
the crowd quiet across the river for something like an 
hour. Can and will you do it?” 

“Say, Zig, can I give ’em a show of tricks ? I have got 
’em air things mighty fine.” 


New Danger. 237 

“Anything, only don’t get into trouble yourself.” 

Without further delay, our hero returned to the impa¬ 
tient waiter, followed by Budd. 

“It’s all right,” said Zig-Zag; “I am going with you 
just as soon as I can get started. Won’t you come and 
help me pick up the things?” 

The broad smile upon the other’s sunburned visage told 
as plainly as his words that this arrangement afforded 
him unbounded delight. 

“I reckon we’ll show these air low-downs they ain’t in 
this show. I should advise you not to come here again 
after fooling ’em this time.” 

The spectators showed that they were surprised to see 
one of their hated rivals walk down the aisle of their 
hall, but to Zig-Zag’s relief, no outcry was made. 

“Here, Mr. Newbegin,” said Zig-Zag, handing his 
companion a few articles, such as he knew he would not 
need in giving an entertainment, “you can go ahead and 
tell them we are coming as soon as possible. No doubt 
they are getting uneasy.” 

“Pleased at this, the stranger saw Budd march down 
the aisle out of the building, while he waited for the boy 
conjurer to gather up the rest of the things. 


238 New Danger. 

“Here, mister, you hold this box, while I pack some 
of the smaller articles into it. You might as well be 
seated. And say, I suppose I shall have to say to these 
folks how matters stand, and let them down as easily as 
possible.” 

“Of course,” assented the other. “Say, let me do it.” 

“No; that wouldn’t do. They wouldn’t let me get out 
of the house.” 

“Well, don’t you spare ’em, but let down ker-chunk!” 

Without replying to this advice, the boy conjurer 
turned to the audience, saying, in his smooth, silvery tone: 

“Ladies and gentlemen, circumstances over which we 
have no control have often changed the entire course of 
our lives; events apparently insignificant in themselves 
have altered the fates of nations; and to-night—ha! par¬ 
don me, my dear friend!” he suddenly broke off, turning 
to him from Bossville East, “but there is the gleam of 
gold about you. It lurks in your eyes; it hides in your 
whiskers! I know you will allow me to save this piece 
for you,” and suiting action to words, he plucked a gold 
dollar from the man’s beard and dropped it into a box 
standing on the table. 

“Another, as I live! Why, man alive! you are fairly 


New Danger. 239 

running over with these precious golden slices. Have 
you just come from a mint? Or are you a mint your-/ 
self? I believe you are!” and, while rattling on in this 
way, Zig-Zag continued to pick gold dollars from the 
man’s ears, nose, beard, hair, from his clothes, and even 
from the palms of his hands, while he sat amazed. 

“Hold your hat, please, and I will save them for you.” 

Speechless and motionless, the man allowed the con¬ 
jurer to take his hat, into which he could hear the dollars 
drop with a merry jingle, which awoke his avaricious 
nature, and drove everything else from his mind. 

The audience was watching with intense interest, and 
once he had brought the other under his control, Zig-Zag 
did not let up on him from “over the river.” 

Nothing in conjuring counts like the influence of the 
eye, and next to it, the rapidity of action. Zig-Zag lost 
no advantage in his play with either. 

The moment he felt the money trick was losing its 
hold, he turned to the flying coins, to the egg trick, the 
wonderful handkerchief, the stuffed hat, and others, 
passing from one to the other so swiftly and adroitly that 
he kept the spectators in a continual roar of merriment, 


240 New Danger. 

while he who had come to get him away, sat a spell¬ 
bound witness. 

“Hold out your hands,” he said to his victim. “Place 
them together cup-shaped, so they will hold water. That 
will do. Now, one and all, see me pour this clear spring 
water into his palms, and then watch the effect. See! it 
turns green—green as his own manners. Ah! it becomes 
a jelly; it’s as hard as stone! Behold! as I touch it with 
the magic wand, a living snake rises from the mass! It 
coils and hisses about the wand! Ugh! it looks ugly. 
Down, hideous thing! I will none of you,” and tapping 
the creature on the head, he dropped it into the glass from 
which he had poured the water, when it seemed to dis¬ 
solve and fade away. 

“The glass is empty!” declared the conjurer, turning it 
bottom up in sight of the audience. “Ladies and gentle¬ 
men, I thank you for your kindly attention, and when 
we next meet, I trust it will be in good fellowship.” 

Then, while the very rafters shook over their heads 
with the tumultuous applause, Zig-Zag turned to him 
from the rival village, saying: 

“Now we will go over and amuse your folks.” 

Even then the other seemed not to have found his 


New Danger. 241 

tongue, for, without a word, he helped the boy conjurer 
pick up his apparatus and followed him out of the house. 

Two men were anxiously awaiting them when they 
reached the bank of the river, where a boat was pulled 
up on the sand. 

“ Tears like you be gone all night, Jim!” growled one. 
“Pile in there.” 

Though he liked the appearance of these men less than 
that of the one who had come to the hall, Zig-Zag 
did not dream of danger to himself, until they were mid¬ 
way in the stream, when he detected the one in the stern 
making a swift signal to the others. 

Then the rowing suddenly stopped, and before Zig-Zag 
could defend himself, a grasp of iron was around his 
neck, and he was hurled into the bottom of the boat. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 
budd’s remarkable performance. 

Budd Newbegin left the hall at Bossville West with a 
conscious feeling of his importance in the affair upon 
hand, and in his mind he was resolved to carry out his 
employer’s wishes to the letter. If he failed in doing 
that, let it be said to his credit, it was no fault of his in¬ 
tentions. 

A boatman was at the river bank, who quickly carried 
him over to the other side, and the building, holding at 
that time the inhabitants of the town, to the children 
even, was pointed out to him. 

If the house upon the other side was crowded, this one 
was packed, so Budd had hard work to reach the narrow 
platform at the farther end. 

His appearance upon the stage was hailed with a noisy 
demonstration, which fairly took away his breath. 

Though he had faced a crowd many times with an¬ 
other, he was amazed to find how much difference it made 
to be alone. Still, it would not do for him to show any 
weakness now, and, bowing low to the audience, he 


Budd’s Remarkable Performance. 243 

started off upon a speech, which he had conned over to 
himself on the way there: 

“Ladens and gentlemies! I’m Fesserpro Riverwis 
overcome to tell some you misshow have staked. I—I 
mean Fm on t’other riverside, an’ Fesserwis Prowell is 
riverside on this!” 

Here poor Budd broke completely down, looking ex¬ 
ceedingly red in the face and unable to tell whether he 
was in Bossville West or its rival East. 

“Hear him!” shouted one of the spectators. “Go on 
with yer show, professor, and give us something which 
will make ’em lunkheads on t’other side itch with envy.” 

“Go on!” chorused the throng. 

Budd glanced wildly over the crowd, and if there had 
been any possible way for him to escape, he would have 
bolted the scene without further ado. As it was, he 
shook from head to foot, while the on lookers, unable as 
yet to understand what the trouble was with him, shouted 
and yelled to him. 

All of Budd’s presence of mind seemed to have for¬ 
saken him, and when he opened his mouth to speak, not 
a word came forth. 

Some of the crowd may have thought this pantomime 


244 Budd’s Remarkable Performance. 

of his was a part of the entertainment, for they looked 
on with open-mouthed wonder. 

Others anticipated that in some way they had been 
duped, and they shouted out their wrath in no unmis¬ 
takable terms. 

“Give us back our money or go on with your measly 
old show!” 

‘Tm Fesserwis Prowell!” stammered Budd, unable to 
get beyond that miserable falsehood. 

“We know it!” howled the crowd. “Ain’t we come 
out here, big an’ little, to see ’em rinktums showed on yer 
yaller bills ? Go on with the circus, an’ if we don’t shout 
louder’n ’em wolverines on t’other side, you may stuff us 
with cotton an’ use us for sponges. Go on with some of 
your sleight-of-handers. We want to see the snakes, and 
’em other funny things you tell about.” 

Budd realized that his situation was becoming critical, 
and unless he could do something to check the rage of the 
crowd, he must fare without mercy at their hands. 

Determined to set himself right in their estimates this 
time, he again attempted to address them: 

“Lagents and mentlemies! I’m Prowell Fesserwis! 
I mean that I’m he and he is I; that is-” 



Budd’s Remarkable Performance. 245 

“Hear! hear! Why don’t you talk Mingo?” 

Following this was a stormy tirade, during which 
Budd stood as motionless as a statue on the platform, and 
looking as white as a sheet. 

“The poor man is sick,” cried a female voice from the 
front seat. 

“Or crazy as a loon!” cried a stalwart six-footer from 
the back of the house. 

At this moment an even worse turn was given the un¬ 
happy situation by the appearance of a man at the door 
with the electrifying announcement that the Westerites 
were at that moment enjoying a rousing show by the re¬ 
nowned wizard, who had advertised to show to them at 
that very hour! 

“This fellow is an impostor-” 

“Put him out of the hall!” 

“Give us back our money!” 

“Ride him out of town!” 

“We have been humbugged! Give him a coat of tar 
and feathers!” 

Losing what little wit they had possessed the minute 
before, the men began to rise up en masse all over the 
hall, and a tall, raw-boned Jonathan, swinging his arms 



246 Budd’s Remarkable Performance. 

over the heads of his companions, hurled a missile at the 
person of the terrified youth. 

A wild cry came from Budd’s lips, as he saw his peril, 
and, seeing no way of getting out of the building, he 
rushed across the stage and began to climb the wall. 

The house was a one-story affair, which had never 
been finished inside, so the timbers stood out full size on 
the walls, while overhead the roof formed the only ceiling. 

We can’t tell you how he did it, for his own mind was 
never clear upon the subject, after the excitement was 
over, but Budd scaled that rough wall like a squirrel! 

Nor did he stop at the top of the post, but, catching in 
between the cracks in the roof boards, he ascended one of 
the rafters, until he hung cross-legged over the “holders” 
—stout boards nailed from rafter to rafter, to keep the 
building from spreading—close up under the ridgepole. 

There he clung like a huge spider, while the cobwebs, 
which he had dislodged, floated down into the upturned 
faces of the spectators. 

“Knock him down!” cried half a dozen, in the same 
breath. “We’ve been humbugged!” 

In the midst of the hue and cry which followed, while 
Budd baffled the attempts of his persecutors to dislodge 


Budd’s Remarkable Performance. 247 

him, a clear, ringing voice startled every person in the 
house. 

“Hold! what means this wild disturbance ?” 

In order to keep even with events, let us go back to 
Zig-Zag, when he was assaulted in the boat. 

The attack sent him backward over the seat upon the 
bottom of the boat, as we have described, but that fall 
enabled him to deal his assailant a furious kick in the 
stomach, which hurled the man back with such force that 
he toppled into the water, with a cry of pain. 

This movement gave the boat such a sudden plunge 
that Zig-Zag’s other enemy loosed his hold upon him, so 
our nimble hero twisted himself free. 

Then, before his more clumsy opponent could rally, he 
pitched him overboard, to seize the oars and row for the 
shore with what celerity he could. 

Knowing there was little or no danger of the men 
drowning, he did not give the matter more than a pass¬ 
ing thought, while he looked forward to his own escape. 

Bewildered by their unexpected immersion, the two 
men were carried down stream a considerable distance 
before they could effect a landing. 

Zig-Zag had barely touched the bank before the tumult 


248 Budd’s Remarkable Performance. 

from the hall reached his ears, warning him that Budd 
was in trouble. 

Quickly gathering up his apparatus, he ran at the top 
of his speed toward the building, the cries growing louder 
and fiercer as he approached, until he suddenly appeared 
upon the exciting scene, with the fearless cry: 

“Hold! what means this wild disturbance ?” 


CHAPTER XXIX. 


READING THE RIOT ACT. 

“B’gosh, Zig! I never was so glad to see you in my 
life!” cried the shrill voice of Budd Newbegin from 
among the rafters, as a silence fell suddenly upon the 
scene immediately following the boy conjurer’s fearless 
command. 

Glancing swiftly in that direction, our hero was amazed 
at seeing his companion dangling from his precarious 
situation, looking, as we have said, like a huge spider. 

Under less exciting surroundings, he would have pre¬ 
sented a most laughable appearance. 

The crowd had turned from their terrified victim to the 
newcomer, whom one and all quickly understood was the 
boy conjurer. 

Zig-Zag, realizing that Budd had failed in his under¬ 
taking, and without blaming him or the disappointed 
audience, he said: 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to have been un¬ 
able to come here sooner, but ‘better late than never/ as 


250 Reading the Riot Act. 

our copy books used to say, and what is the use of having 
copy books, if we do not follow their teachings ?” 

As swiftly as a summer shower, the storm disappeared. 

“It’s the Oriental Wizard!” some one said, loud enough 
to be heard by his neighbor, when others took up the cry, 
until a vociferous cheer rang over the house, during 
which applause Zig-Zag reached the platform, and faced 
his audience with a smiling countenance. 

It was surprising how quickly the scene had changed. 

“If you will bear with me just a few minutes longer, 
my friends, I will promise to make up for what disap¬ 
pointment and anxiety I have caused you.” 

Then, looking up toward Budd, he could not refrain 
from saying: 

“What! climbing to the stars again, Mr. Newbegin? 

“I am sure the good people present will excuse our 
friend for his ambition to rise, as it is just as natural to 
him as it is to an angel.” 

“B’gosh!” exclaimed Budd, as soon as he could make 
himself heard above the applause of the crowd. “I’ll bet 
ther ain’t another chap here as could climb up to me.” 

“I hardly think any one feels like competing with you, 


Reading the Riot Act. 251 

Budd,” replied Zig-Zag. “But now you have shown us 
what you can do, why don’t you come down?” 

“B’gosh! I can’t!” 

This soon became evident, for when Budd tried to de¬ 
scend from whence he had quickly climbed, in his ex¬ 
citement, he grew dizzy and lost his courage. 

Seeing that he was in danger of falling, Zig-Zag said: 

“Hold, Budd, and some one will get a ladder for you.” 

While this was being done, the young wizard went on 
with his preparations for the entertainment, so it was not 
long before he was astonishing the spectators with his 
marvelous performances. 

Having got the good will of the audience by his mild 
way of “reading the riot act,” he resolved to do his level 
best, and never during the season did he “give more for 
the money” than he did that evening to the people of 
Bossville East. e 

His wit seemed to run like an electric current through 
the house, and he kept the spectators wild. 

“Heavens to Betsy, young feller!” cried one of the 
men, “we air going to build a new townhouse next year, 
and we want you to be sure and come and give some 


252 Reading the Riot Act. 

more of ’em things. Come sure, and we’ll turn out if we 
fill the house so full we bu’st it!” 

Zig-Zag concluded to say nothing of the attack made 
upon him in the boat, now the inhabitants of Bossville 
had become so friendly, though he was puzzled to know 
why it had been made. 

At any rate he saw nothing more of the men, and when 
he left Bossville, the next morning, he was escorted for 
two miles by the local band and such shouting and hur¬ 
rahing as he had never heard before, everybody seeming 
fairly wild with joyous excitement. 

“Well, Budd,” said Zig-Zag, when at last the final yell 
of the demonstrative admirers had died away behind 
them, “I can’t say that I am sorry to part with the twin 
Bossvilles.” 

“B’gosh! me, too.” 

After leaving the Bossvilles, Zig-Zag found himself 
entering a’more thickly settled region, where the people 
seemed more prosperous. 

He entertained to full houses for a week, having re¬ 
markable weather, considering the rapid approach of 
winter. 

He was still mystified and somewhat worried over the 


Reading the Riot Act. 253 

continued appearances of Professor. Wiswell’s double, for 
we know of no better name to give the mysterious per¬ 
son, who, about every other night, was to be seen near 
the entrance to the hall, an earnest observer of the pass¬ 
ing scene. 

He never offered to address Zig-Zag, while the latteT 
did not think it best to notice him. 

“Hurrah!” exclaimed our hero to Budd, one morning. 
“Here is a letter from Mr. Benton, and the mystery of 
that box you saw Steerly carrying off has been solved. 
It has been found. But it wasn’t of as much account as 
was expected, for it was filled with some old clothes of 
Mr. Wiswell’s and other articles belonging to him, of but 
little value. Still, it is a link in the chain of evidence 
against that villain, John Steerly, or Andrew Marlow, 
as I suppose I ought to call him. 

“By the way, that reminds me that we are to go to¬ 
morrow to Howland, the home of Mrs. Marlow. I must 
be sure and see her, for somehow I can only think of her 
as a dear friend. I know she is a good woman.” 

Howland is a prosperous town, and has one of the 
prettiest villages to be found in New England. As the 


254 Reading the Riot Act. 

hour drew near for the opening of the evening’s enter¬ 
tainment, the crowd began to collect at the spacious hall. 

“It is going to be a good night for us,” said Zig-Zag. 
“But I have got to return to our stopping place for some¬ 
thing I have forgotten, and I guess you had better go 
with me.” 

The evening was quite dark, and, as they approached 
the house, it was wrapped in gloom, the owner and his 
family having already gone to the hall. 

They had got within a few rods of the dwelling, when 
Zig-Zag fancied he saw some one climbing into the win¬ 
dow opening from the room which had been assigned to 
them during their stay. 

“Some one is breaking into the house!” exclaimed the 
young conjurer. “Quick, Budd! let us see who it is.” 


CHAPTER XXX. 


AN AMAZING REVELATION. 

The room assigned to Zig-Zag and his fellow-traveler 
was on the first floor, and, as they came up the road, they 
were in sight of one of the windows opening from the 
apartment. 

As they approached, they soon saw that this was open, 
though no one could be seen about the place. 

No light was burning in the house. 

“I am sure I saw some one climb in through that win¬ 
dow,” whispered Zig-Zag, as they paused a short dis¬ 
tance away. “How quiet it is about the premises 1” 

“If there is anybody there, he is asleep-” 

“Hist!” warned Zig-Zag. “I am pretty sure I heard 
some one move then. Let us creep a little nearer and 
watch and wait a minute.” 

He had already begun to crawl forward on his hands 
and knees, Budd following slowly after him. 

Seeing a clump of bushes growing near the corner of 
the house, Zig-Zag shaped his course in that direction, 


256 An Amazing Revelation. 

barely reaching the spot when the dark outlines of a man’s 
figure appeared in the window. 

“He’s coming!” whispered Zig-Zag; “help me catch 
him.” 

Without stepping to count the odds, Zig-Zag, suddenly 
rising to his feet, darted swiftly toward the escaping 
robber. 

His face turned the other way, the latter did not see 
the young conjurer until he was close upon him, when 
an oath left his lips and an object he was carrying in his 
hand slipped and fell to the ground. 

Zig-Zag saw at a glance that it was the mahogany box 
once belonging to Professor Wiswell. 

The next moment he was more surprised to recognize 
the escaping housebreaker as John Steerly. 

This discovery, however, did not deter Zig-Zag from 
seizing hold of the culprit, as he paused for a moment 
upon the window sill, bewildered by the unexpected ap¬ 
pearance of our hero. 

“You are my prisoner 1” cried Zig-Zag, clutching upon 
his victim with all the strength he could muster. “Quick, 
Budd, lend a hand.” 


An Amazing Revelation. 257 

“Let go of me, or I will kill you!” panted Steerly, as 
he struggled to break from the grasp of his assailant. 

By that time Budd had reached the spot, and the cap¬ 
ture of Steerly seemed certain. But he was a muscular 
man, and young Newbegin had barely caught hold of 
him, when he planted one of his feet in the latter’s stom¬ 
ach with such force that he sent him to the ground, dou¬ 
bled up like a jackknife. 

“Ki-yi! ki-yi!” shrieked Budd. “I'm killed and 
buried!” while he rolled to and fro in great agony. 

Zig-Zag still maintained his grip upon the robber, and 
twice he came near throwing him to the earth, but the 
other’s superior strength began to prove too much for 
him. 

“Let go, you little bulldog!” gritted Steerly, writhing 
and twisting until he had freed his right arm so that he 
could raise the member and deal Zig-Zag a furious blow 
on the side of the head. 

At that moment our hero had hurled him back against 
the side of the house, but the fearful stroke, dealt with 
such unerring precision and force, sent him reeling back¬ 
ward, his hands losing their hold upon the desperate man. 

“I’ll learn you how to meddle with me!” exclaimed 


258 An Amazing Revelation. 

Steerly, about to repeat his attack upon the youth, when 
a voice from the house cried: 

“What is up, there? Who’s dead?” 

Steerly realized that Budd’s cries had aroused the occu¬ 
pants of the dwelling, and that he must escape at once 
if at all. 

Without further delay, therefore, he started away from 
the place at the top of his speed, forgetting, in his excite¬ 
ment, the box which had cost him so much trouble. 

Budd’s outcries would have proved to any one that he 
was far from being anything but alive, and, as Steerly 
rushed past him, he bounded up to lock his long arms 
about the villain’s waist. 

“Hi, Zig! give us a lift!” sputtered Budd, as he held 
his victim in spite of the other’s vigorous kicking and 
headlong attempts to break away. 

At that moment the door on the opposite side of the 
house was flung open with a slam, and Steerly knew that 
some one was coming to the boys’ assistance. He re¬ 
doubled his efforts, fairly dragging Budd across the yard, 
until, with a furious wrench, he tore himself free, to 
quickly disappear in the darkness. 


An Amazing Revelation. 259 

“What’s up ?” asked Mr. Gordon, reaching the scene 
at that moment. 

Zig-Zag had recovered enough to explain, in a few 
words, the attempted robbery. 

“Zounds, you don’t say. Why, that was the most 
audacious thing I ever heard of. Why, we haven’t been 
out of the house more than ten minutes, for we had all 
gone down to the show. But I found I had forgotten 
my pocketbook, so I came back after it. Did he get any¬ 
thing ?” 

“I think not, sir. He seemed to be after a box I have 
in my possession, and which used to belong to my 
guardian. He is an old enemy of mine, but, if I am not 
mistaken, known in this town. His right name is An¬ 
drew Marlow.” 

“Great Scott! you don’t say. But I supposed he was 
dead long ago. If justice had had her dues, he would 
have stretched hemp long before this, for a bigger rascal 
never wore shoe leather. You are hurt?” 

“Not seriously. He gave me a little clip on the side 
of the head, but I shall soon get over that. I think I will 
go in the house and wash off this blood, when I must 


260 An Amazing Revelation. 

hasten to the hall, for it is already past the hour I was 
to begin. Here, Budd, take this box up to the room and 
put it into my trunk.” 

Then the three entered the house, Mr. Gordon leaving 
the boys to look after themselves, while he found his 
pocketbook and started back to the hall. 

Zig-Zag had scarcely finished his toilet, when Budd 
rushed breathlessly into the room, crying: 

“It’s bu’sted open, Zig! Must have got split when 
Cowly dropped it. See! it is filled in between the parti¬ 
tions with a lot of papers and documents.” 

“Broken open! Filled with papers, Budd? Let me 
see.” 

Seizing the object with a trembling hand, he quickly 
saw that the box had been made with a false bottom, and 
that the space between the two was filled, as Budd had 
said, with official-looking documents. 

“They are Professor Wiswell’s private papers, which 
we have been looking for so long!” cried Zig-Zag, ex¬ 
citedly. “I know now what he meant by the inside of 
the mahogany box. This is the grandest discovery we 
have ever made, Budd.” 


An Amazing Revelation. 261 

“B’gosh! I guess so. Say, Zig, the more you get ac¬ 
quainted with me, the more you know me.” 

“Here’s the whole story of Mr. Wiswell’s life!” said 
Zig-Zag, unheeding his companion. “It is a remarkable 
story, too. I understand what was mystery to me before. 
Poor, noble man! I like him better than ever. How 
strange! and to think—the wretch! Why, Budd! I can 
hardly keep my senses enough to read it, it is so strange 
and startling. I will tell you all about it as soon as we 
get back from the hall; but I must not delay any longer, 
for it is nearly eight o’clock. As I live, I am so excited 
I do not believe I can do a thing to-night. 

“I shall take this precious box and these papers with 
me. They must not leave my sight again. To think 
that after all I am on the right track!” 

Zig-Zag and his companion found the hall well filled 
with an anxious audience, Mr. Gordon having explained 
in part the cause of the boy conjurer’s non-appearance. 

He was greeted with a hearty cheer, which did much 
toward restoring his usual self-control on such occasions. 

He was both pleased and surprised to recognize Mrs. 
Marlow among his guests, and, as he stepped upon the 


262 An Amazing Revelation. 

platform, she bowed graciously to him, an acknowledg¬ 
ment he gladly returned. 

As he began his opening address and glanced over the 
mass of faces upturned to him, he was hardly surprised 
to discover in the farther part of the house the person 
who seemed to haunt him of late. The strange man's 
gaze was fixed so intently upon him that he for a moment 
faltered in his speech. 

“With all this excitement upon my mind, I shall fail 
to-night,” he thought. “I can’t get it out of my mind. 
How beautiful Mrs. Marlow looks! She cannot know 
that he is in town.” 

With such thoughts as these in his mind, Zig-Zag 
opened his entertainment; and, if he hesitated at first, 
he soon forgot everything else in the excitement of his 
work, while he swayed the crowd at his will, ever and 
anon calling forth a rousing cheer at the miracles he per¬ 
formed. 

He was approaching the last act in his series of mar¬ 
vels, when, looking across the hall, he was startled to see 
John Steerly standing head and shoulders above all the 
rest, and with a revolver in his right hand, leveled at 
him! 


An Amazing Revelation. 263 

“Curse you!” shrieked the desperate wretch, “you have 
baffled me so far; see if you can escape that!” 

The frenzied words were closely followed by a sharp 
report, and, throwing up his arms as he fell backward 
upon the stage, Zig-Zag cried: 

“I am shot!” 


CHAPTER XXXI. 


THE LONG-LOST. 

Excitement of the wildest kind followed. 

Men shouted, women shrieked and fainted, while chil¬ 
dren sat pale and terrified. 

Some of those nearest to the assassin sprang forward 
to attempt his capture, but brandishing his firearm the 
wretch bounded out of the door. 

“A thousand dollars to the man who captures him, dead 
or alive!” cried the sheriff of Howland, excitedly, rush¬ 
ing in pursuit of the fugitive, followed by a score of de¬ 
termined men. 

Meanwhile Zig-Zag had not been unnoticed. 

Mrs. Marlow was the first to reach his side, and she 
bent over him to learn the extent of his injuries. 

“Is he dead?” asked one of the anxious spectators. 

“I think not. No, he breathes! There is blood upon 
his arm, but the wound is not more than a scratch. He 
opens his eyes. He lives. I am so glad.” 

Mrs. Marlow was holding Zig-Zag's head in her lap, 
while she gently brushed her hand across his brow. 


The Long-lost. 265 

“Poor boy! it is nothing serious, I hope. You are 
among friends.” 

In the excitement of the situation no one was certain 
of what he or she did. But fortunately a doctor was in 
the house, and he came forward at once. 

Before he had reached the platform, however, Zig-Zag 
had started to a sitting posture, and was perhaps the 
calmest one there. 

“There is a pain in my side,” he said; “but I do not 
think I am very hard hit. The ball seemed to strike me 
there, and then it glanced off.” 

This proved to be the case, a silver piece in his vest 
pocket having saved his life. The slight wound on his 
arm must have been made by the bullet as it turned from 
its mark. 

Mrs. Marlow was greatly affected, but a new actor 
upon the scene caused a sudden change in the aspect of 
affairs. 

He was the man who had aroused such an intense in¬ 
terest with Zig-Zag in appearing so much like Watterson 
Wiswell. 

As he approached the scene, he paused abruptly at the 


266 The Long-lost. 

sight of her who was still caressing the fevered brow of 
the boy conjurer, and a low cry came from his lips. 

Then she looked up, and their eyes met. And while 
they looked upon each other what seemed a long time 
to the spectators, he grew pale and his hand sought his 
brow, as if he would brush away something which had 
come over his gaze. She threw out her arms, and stag¬ 
gering forward, cried: 

‘‘James—my husband ! back from the grave!” 

She would have fallen upon the stage had not some 
one caught her in his arms, where she lay limp and life¬ 
less. He stood like one in a dream, speechless, mo¬ 
tionless. 

“Professor Wiswell,” exclaimed Zig-Zag, “alive after 
all.” 

Without a word, the other opened his arms and folded 
the boy conjurer to his breast. 

Mrs. Marlow awoke from one swoon to sink into an¬ 
other, and as soon as possible she was conveyed to her 
home, where every care was given her that kind friends 
could bestow. 

About this time the news came that Steerly, or Mar- 


The Long-lost. 267 

low, as he should be called, had been captured. But in 
his desperation the hunted man had shot himself, and his 
hours on earth were numbered. In fact, it did not seem 
possible for him to live until morning. 

Zig-Zag and Professor Wiswell were told this as they 
were talking together and explaining to each other what 
had happened since they had been separated so strangely 
at Glimmerton. 

“Shall we go and see him ?” asked the latter. 

Our hero nodded assent, when they repaired at once 
to the house where the dying man was eking out his last 
miserable moments. 

We think that a sort of summing up of that night's 
following events and conversations, which were kept up 
till the rosy light of another day seemed to foretell 
brighter prospects for those whose fortunes we have been 
portraying, will be the most satisfactory way to get at the 
kernel of the mystery. 

Notwithstanding the evidence which seemed so con¬ 
clusive at the time, Professor Wiswell had not died from 
the effects of the poison administered by Andrew Mar¬ 
low, alias Steerly. The drug had thrown him into a sort 


268 The Long-lost. 

of stupor, from which he had partially recovered in the 
night, to wander off in a semi-unconscious state. Nor 
did he recover from that singular state of mind, and 
though physically as well as ever, all the past was a blank 
to him. It was a case of lost identity, of which there are 
many instances of men leaving their homes and families 
to wander off, and under assumed names to live for 
weeks or months, and in one circumstance of which we 
know to be gone eight years. After a time their intel¬ 
lects would suddenly become clear, when they would re¬ 
turn to their homes, but unable to tell where they had 
been or what they had done. 

He, as we have seen, went to Haford, where Zig-Zag 
first saw, as he thought, a man who looked like him, for 
he could not realize his guardian was alive. From that 
time Professor Wiswell had a strange desire to follow 
our hero, though he shrank from meeting him face to face. 

But now the spell was broken, and in the happiness 
of that reunion the latter had no desire to withhold longer 
the secret of his life, and he repeated in detail that which 
Zig-Zag had read in the manuscript found in the ma¬ 
hogany box. 


The Long-lost. 269 

When a young man, James Stanton, or Watterson 
Wiswell, as he called himself later in life, married Mary 
Holly and one child was born to them. Soon after Mr. 
Stanton was called to India upon business, and cast away 
upon the voyage, to meet with many perils and hard¬ 
ships. It was years before he returned, so long, in fact, 
that his wife, supposing he was dead, married again, her 
second husband being Andrew Marlow. 

Like Enoch Arden, James Stanton came back, found 
another in his place, missed his baby boy, and rather than 
to break into this apparently happy home, went his way 
again a wanderer. Something of his feelings were de¬ 
scribed in the sheet of paper Zig-Zag found at Hotel 
Glen wood. 

Changing his name from that time, he devoted his life 
and study to the profession of a conjurer, to become one 
of the most successful who ever waved the magic wand 
over an audience. 

He did not know Steerly was the undeserving husband 
for whom he had sacrificed the highest hopes of his life, 
though the other must have learned an inkling of the 
truth later on. 


270 The Long-lost. 

“And now I must seek her,” he said. “Oh, can it be 
possible that after all these long, weary years I am to be 
rewarded for something of what I have suffered ? Come 
with me, my boy; I cannot bear to have you go out of 
my sight. You seem dearer to me than ever.” 


CHAPTER XXXII. 


LAST BUT NOT LEAST. 

The joy of that reunion between the long separated 
ones was too sacred to be told by a third person. Zig- 
Zag turned away with tears in his eyes, but they were 
tears of happiness for those toward whom he was drawn 
by an irresistible affinity. Was it an indication of what 
was to follow ? 

Zig-Zag had not long been apart from his friends, when 
he was asked to join them. Then anxious questioning 
followed, until Mrs. Stanton exclaimed: 

“My mother’s heart told me it was so from the first. 
Charlie, my boy! come to your mother’s arms. Lost 
these many years, but found at last.” 

“Ay, Mary,” said the happy man. “I had the better 
of you, for I had him with me, though I did not dream it.” 

Zig-Zag could not understand at first that he had 
found a father and mother, but it was made clear to him 
in the end. It seemed Mrs. Stanton, in her grief for her 
missing husband, had started to go to India in search of 
him, taking Charlie with her. But the worst of misfor- 


Last but not Least. 


272 

tunes fell to her lot, and in London she was separated 
from her child, and did not find him. By a strange 
fatality he for whom she was in search was in that city 
at that time, and rescued their boy from death, as was 
told at the beginning of our story. He had not seen Zig- 
Zag since he was a babe, so it was no wonder he did not 
know him. Had he known the truth he could not have 
been kinder to the boy. 

Of their wanderings the reader must have a sufficient 
understanding. Mr. Stanton hastened to his home, to 
find another there in his place, and learning that his little 
boy was dead, as everybody supposed, he reluctantly re¬ 
solved to continue himself dead to the world and to her 
who had been dearest to him. 

Andrew Marlow soon proved himself to be the villain 
he was, and fled from Howland, to fall in at last, as if by 
a strange fatality, with Mr. Stanton. 

Learning the other’s life secret, the plotter then resolved 
to get possession of the property which the conjurer had 
accumulated. In this he was frustrated, so far as to be 
unable to find the key which unlocked the mystery; in 
other words, the papers so cleverly hidden in the ma¬ 
hogany box. Then, losing the little trunk under the cir- 


Last but not Least. 273 

cumstances we have described, he followed Zig-Zag, vow¬ 
ing vengeance if nothing else against him. Of course, 
he had formed the dastardly plan of wrecking the stage, 
whereby he hoped to kill not only Zig-Zag, but Mrs. Mar¬ 
low. He hired the men at Bossville to drown our hero, 
as well as changing the dates for the shows so as to make 
trouble for the boy conjurer. 

Baffled at last, he passed that night to that higher 
court, there to pay the penalty of his crimes. 

These explanations will doubtless be sufficient for the 
reader to understand the different situations of our 
friends. 

It will be remembered that Zig-Zag found a third sheet 
of paper containing the fragment of another’s story, 
among those dropped by Steerly at Sinclair Hall. The 
writer of the same had been a friend of Mr. Stanton’s, 
who had been arrested for a crime of which he was inno¬ 
cent and imprisoned, to eventually regain his freedom. 
As he has nothing further to do with the characters of 
our story, it is not necessary to say more concerning him. 

As Zig-Zag was advertised to appear the following 
evening in an adjoining town, it was necessary for him to 
leave his new-found home for that purpose. It is need- 


Last but not Least. 


274 

less for us to say that he had never found it so hard for 
him to start out as at that time. But he did so, and con¬ 
tinued “on the road,” until he had filled all of his engage¬ 
ments. Budd, of course, going with him. 

After that Zig-Zag went to his home, while Budd, with 
a generous sum of money in his pockets, went back to 
Canterbury, where he made himself quite a hero in re¬ 
citing the thrilling parts he had performed. 

In closing, we might give detailed descriptions of the 
secret of the many feats of legerdemain and sleight-of- 
hand performed by our hero were it not for betraying the 
good faith of those whom we have promised to protect. 
We have, however, given enough of insight into many of 
them, so a bright boy could, if he wished, perform cred¬ 
itably. To become a successful conjurer requires a pleas¬ 
ing appearance, a glib tongue, quick action, and perfect 
control over one’s self. Very much depends upon the 
power of the eye, and never to let the audience see what 
your hands are doing. 

Besides these personal qualifications, to perform any of 
the elaborate tricks requires suitable apparatus, which is 
quite expensive. 

With being an adept conjurer, Zig-Zag was also one of 


Last but not Least. 275 

the best ventriloquists that ever stood before an audience. 
This gift helped him often when the cunning of his hands 
failed. This was well shown in his illusion of the dog in 
the air at Haford. Several other times it served him a 
good purpose. 

Zig-Zag, or Charles Stanton, as he is now called, has 
entered upon the profession of a physician, and with a 
happy home, his aged father and mother still with him, 
is amply satisfied with his lot in life. 

THE END. 


I 




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By HARVEY SUTHERLAND • 

With numerous illustrations by Frank Verbeck and 
other artists. 

There was an urgent demand that the author write a 
book on “Bugs,” and the volume is now issued. It 
gives interesting accounts of all kinds of bugs, both 
domestic and foreign, but the larger portion of the work 
deals with those creatures familiar to all. There are 
chapters on flies, mosquitoes, fleas, the busy bee, the 
ingenious spider, foes of clothes and carpets, the aristo¬ 
crats of the kitchen, and many others, all told in a style 
full of rare wit and humor, and still teeming with 
valuable information. 

PRICE, .... $i-2$ 


For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price 
by the publishers. Street & Smith, 238 William St., New York City. 




WHY NOT DOUBLE YOUR STRENGTH? 


FOR BOTH YOUNG AND OLD. 

U. S. Army Physical Exercises. 

Revised for the use of the civilian. 

By PROFESSOR DONOVAN. 

Ten minutes of your time each day, without the use 
of an apparatus, will double your strength if you follow 
the instructions given in this valuable work. 

The exercises are taken from the Infantry Drill Regula¬ 
tions of the United States Army. 

The various movements are practiced by all soldiers in 
garrison in order to retain a proper set-up and to keep 
the muscles supple ; but they are essentially military in 
character, and we have made a few necessary changes, 
so that the civilian who wishes to employ the exercises 
may reap the fullest benefit from their use. 

The illustrations are from thirty original photographs 
posed expressly for this work by Prof. M. Chas. Benisch, 
Instructor of the Central Civil Science School and 
Gymnasium. 

Handsomely illustrated and bound in cloth. 

PRICE, .... FIFTY CENTS 


For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price 
by the publishers. Street & Smith, 23S William St., New York City. 











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